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President Donald Trump and his family stand on the stage on the South Lawn of the White House on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington. (AP)
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President Donald Trump capped a week of blurred divisions between his political and presidential life when he accepted the Republican nomination from the White House South Lawn. Addressing a crowd, Trump tore into Democratic opponent Joe Biden and talked up his efforts to improve the lives of Black Americans.
"I say very modestly that I have done more for the African American community than any president since Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican president," Trump said.
The claim overstates Trump’s own standing within history, historians say. It was one of nearly two dozen false or misleading claims we fact-checked from Trump during the Republican National Convention’s finale.
Here’s a guide to our coverage from each of the four days.
Monday, Aug. 24
Fact-checking Donald Trump's Monday speech at the 2020 RNC
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The fact-checking party started early in Charlotte, N.C., where Trump addressed RNC delegates for more than an hour. Trump veered from the political norms (the nominee doesn't typically speak extensively until the final night) and often, the facts.
Fact-checking night 1 of the 2020 RNC
On the opening night of the convention, we fact-checked Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on tax collections, Donald Trump Jr. on Biden’s tax plan, and Rep. Steve Scalise on a claim about Biden and police funding.
President Trump claims he’s bringing down drug prices again, but the details of how are skimpy
Trump claimed he signed two executive orders designed to bring down drug prices. But they are far from being implemented, and multiple experts told us it’s unlikely the measures would pass along drug-pricing discounts to a majority of Americans. And the text of one, the favored nation executive order, has not yet been made public ― making it hard to know how exactly the initiative would work.
Says Joe Biden and Kamala Harris "want massive tax hikes on working families." — Nikki Haley, U.N. ambassador
False. Independent tax analysts agree that the Biden plan would not directly raise taxes on any household earning below $400,000 a year, and it would pose small hits from the indirect impact of raising the corporate tax rate. The vast majority of the income losses from the Biden tax proposal would fall on the top one-fifth of incomes, and especially on the top 1%.
Democrats and Joe Biden "want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning." — Patricia McCloskey, St. Louis attorney who pointed a gun at marching protesters
False. That’s an extreme interpretation of Biden’s proposal to reinstate an Obama administration requirement related to addressing discrimination in housing.
Tuesday, Aug. 25
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is shown on a screen in the Rose Garden while addressing the RNC on Tuesday, Aug. 25, from Jerusalem, Israel.
Fact-checking the second night of the 2020 RNC
The second night of the Republican National Convention painted a picture of a compassionate White House in action, and it ended with first lady Melania Trump addressing the convention from the Rose Garden. But it also showed the blurring of long-standing traditions, and maybe laws, about not mixing politics and government.
Her speech didn’t leave much work for fact-checkers, but other remarks from the president’s adult children, a former impeachment lawyer and his economic adviser did.
The RNC featured Pompeo in Jerusalem and official White House acts. Is that legal?
On camera in the White House, Trump pardoned a man who robbed a Nevada bank and now runs a nonprofit. Trump also conducted a small naturalization ceremony inside the White House. And Mike Pompeo broke from previous secretaries of state by not only giving a convention address, but doing so from Jerusalem.
Such moves drew criticism, on the grounds that top members of the Trump administration were using the powers of governmental office to advance the president’s reelection. Not only did such activities break decades-old norms for the national conventions, but they may also have violated the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that limits government officials from mixing political activities with their official duties.
Says Joe Biden "voted for the Iraq War … He supported war in Serbia, Syria, Libya." — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Mostly True. Biden as a senator voted for resolutions that supported interventions in Iraq and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). As vice president, he followed the policies of the Obama administration, which included interventions in Syria and Libya. A 2016 news report said Biden argued against intervention in Libya at the time.
"Drug overdose deaths decreased in 2018 for the first time in 30 years." — Ryan Holets
Mostly True. Overall drug overdose deaths ticked down in 2018, although preliminary data shows they went up again in 2019.
Wednesday, Aug. 26
Vice President Mike Pence arrives with his wife Karen Pence to speak on the third day of the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore on Aug. 26, 2020. (AP)
Vice President Mike Pence accurately recounted the history of Baltimore's Fort McHenry, and how a failed British bombardment in 1814 helped inspire Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner." Pence's attacks on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, on the other hand, were sometimes misleading, incomplete or wrong.
Fact-checking Pam Bondi’s RNC attacks about Hunter Biden
Business dealings by Biden’s younger son, Hunter, have raised many ethical questions. However, Bondi’s attack misleads by omitting key context about father and son. (And it’s worth noting that ethical questions have been raised about Trump family members and their roles in the government, the campaign and the family business.)
RNC speakers exaggerate Trump’s military drawdown from ‘endless wars’
Eric Trump claimed that his father has achieved "peace in the Middle East. Never-ending wars were finally ended." But experts in foreign policy told us the "endless wars" are not over, and Middle East peace has not been achieved.
Our work gives people the information they need to govern themselves in a democracy. You can explore our database of over 18,000 fact-checks, as well as our promise tracking for elected officials.
"President Trump marshalled the full resources of our federal government from the outset. He directed us to forge a seamless partnership with governors across America in both political parties." — Vice President Mike Pence
Mostly False. Clearly the federal government has provided supplies and funding to states led by both parties in response to the pandemic, and Pence himself has held regular conference calls with governors in both parties. But Pence was speaking about the actions of Trump, not his own. Pence’s comments ignore Trump’s multiple feuds, many times with Democratic governors, about state-federal responsibilities and pandemic response.
Says James Madison "signed the Declaration of Independence." — Madison Cawthorn, North Carolina congressional candidate
False. He didn’t.
Thursday, Aug. 27
President Donald Trump speaks from the South Lawn of the White House on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington. (AP)
Fact-checking Donald Trump’s 2020 RNC speech
Trump accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president in a speech from the South Lawn of the White House on Aug. 27, the first president to do so since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We found 22 statements that were missing context, misleading or wrong.
Says Joe Biden "is even talking about taking the wall down." — President Donald Trump
False. Biden doesn’t want to build new wall barriers. He does not want to tear any down.
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