As Vance targets Planned Parenthood, Trump hedges on abortion ban
Steve Benen – October 14, 2024
A surgical room at Whole Woman’s Health of Austin abortion clinic, one of Texas’ few abortion clinics.
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At the recent vice presidential debate, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio argued that when it comes to abortion rights, he and his party have to “do a better job at winning back people’s trust.” When the senator sat down last week with The New York Times, he used nearly identical phrasing, prompting a worthwhile follow-up question.
“What does that mean, though?” the Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked. After noting the frequency with which the GOP candidate uses the line, she went on to ask whether Vance was prepared to “moderate his position” on reproductive rights.
Days earlier, the Ohioan also told reporters that if Donald Trump returns to the White House, the Republican administration would defund Planned Parenthood.
On “Fox News Sunday,” host Shannon Bream asked Vance where Planned Parenthood patients would go for health services if the Trump White House ended federal support for the clinics. The Republican acknowledged that Planned Parenthood “does a lot of things that a lot of young women, a lot of young families need” — a striking admission, to be sure — but he never quite got around to answering the question.
Meanwhile, the senator’s running mate also appeared on Fox News over the weekend, and Trump commented on the same issue in provocative ways. The Hill reported:
Former President Trump said Sunday that a national abortion ban is “off the table,” but he left the door open on the conversation by saying “we’ll see what happens.”
“Let me just tell you, I think that it’s something that’s off the table now, because I did something that everybody has wanted to do, I was able to get it back to the states,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo, adding that overturning Roe v. Wade was something “every Democrat and Republican wanted.”
Trump’s efforts to rewrite recent history were, of course, utterly bonkers. The idea that “every Democrat” wanted Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe is the opposite of reality.
As part of the same comments, he added that “everybody” wanted Roe to be overturned, which we also know to be demonstrably false: Poll after poll after poll found that a majority of Americans — including plenty of GOP voters — opposed the Republican-appointed justices’ ruling in Dobbs.
But it was also of interest that when looking to the future, Trump added: “Now, we’ll see what happens.”
So, on the one hand, the Republican nominee believes the issue has been “defused.” On the other hand, the “we’ll see what happens” phrasing suggests Trump still believes the door is open to additional changes.
The result is ongoing uncertainty about an issue of great importance to many voters — doubts fueled by the former president’s frequent contradictions. Six months ago, for example, Trump said he was “looking at” possible restrictions on contraception, only to take a dramatically different position a day later.
Similarly, earlier this month, the GOP nominee said he’d veto a federal abortion ban if it came across his Oval Office desk. Now, his position is “We’ll see what happens.”
“Sen. Vance, I’m going to ask you again”: JD Vance repeatedly refuses to admit Trump lost in 2020.
The Recount – October 14, 2024
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance had many opportunities over the past two weeks to admit Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election — but he has not taken any of them.
“I’m just going to assume that if I ask you 50 times whether he lost the election, you would not acknowledge that he did. Is that correct?” ABC News’ Martha Raddatz said during a recent interview with the Ohio senator.
“Martha, you’ve asked this question. I’ve been asked this question 10 times in the past couple of weeks,” Vance said. “Of course Donald Trump and I believe there were problems in 2020. You haven’t asked about inflation.”
Since Vance’s Democratic opponent, Tim Walz, pressed him during their vice presidential debate October 1 on the issue, journalists have asked Vance to directly answer the question about the 2020 election. But Vance has repeatedly evaded, often pivoting to issues like inflation or censorship, or only saying the election had “problems.”
During one recent interview with The New York Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro, published Friday, Vance refused five times to answer.
“Senator, yes or no: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?” Garcia-Navarro asked Vance.
“Let me ask you a question: Is it okay that big technology companies censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, which independent analysis have said, it cost Donald Trump millions of votes?” the VP nominee said.
Garcia-Navarro: “Sen. Vance, I’m going to ask you again: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?”
Vance: “I’ve answered your question with another question. You answer my question and I’ll answer yours.”
Garcia-Navarro: “I have asked this question repeatedly. It is something that is very important for the American people to know. There is no proof, legal or otherwise, that Donald Trump — did not lose the 2020 election.”
Vance: “You’re repeating a slogan rather than engaging with what I’m saying.”
JD Vance Awfully Quiet After Report on How His Mom Got Health Care
Hafiz Rashid – October 14, 2024
JD Vance credited Donald Trump for his family being able to get off of Medicaid and onto private health insurance, at the vice presidential debate earlier this month. But he isn’t telling the whole story: that it was due to Obamacare.
Vance’s mother was able to buy private insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplace, run by Ohio, after overcoming substance abuse, becoming financially stable, and earning too much to stay on Medicaid. At the debate, Vance was also referring to a cousin in Florida who got private insurance through the state marketplace, a campaign spokesperson told The Washington Post.
Vance said that Trump fixed a lot of issues with the ACA after Republicans failed to repeal the bill early in his presidency. But this belies the fact that Vance’s family members reaped the benefits of the ACA despite Trump and the rest of the GOP repeatedly attempting to undermine, and then remove, it.
If Trump had been successful, the ACA and its marketplaces would not exist in their current form, if at all, said Andrew Sprung, an independent health analyst, to The Washington Post.
“If any Vance family members transitioned to the marketplace because they earned out of Medicaid, they should be grateful that Trump and Republicans in Congress failed to repeal and replace the marketplace with an alternative that would have provided far less affordable coverage,” Sprung said.
Vance’s current praise of Trump also goes against what he was saying in 2017, when the then president and Republicans in Congress were trying to repeal and replace the bill. Back then, Vance said that Republicans’ proposals would hurt low-income Americans.
“The ‘full repeal’ bill is nothing of the sort—it preserves the regulatory structure of Obamacare, but withdraws its supports for the poor,” Vance wrote in a column for The New York Times seven years ago.
Vance’s health care proposals, like Trump’s, essentially bring back health insurance companies’ ability to charge more for preexisting conditions. This would hurt the same low-income Americans Vance was supposedly concerned about in 2017, and stick older Americans with those conditions with a higher bill, and that could include Vance’s family members.
Trump’s interview with Maria Bartiromo was more like propaganda than news
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic – October 13, 2024
Donald Trump appeared on “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo” and unleashed an endless stream of lies, threats and nonsense — you know, the usual.
And how did Bartiromo, once a respected business journalist, respond?
Mostly by doing nothing. She just let him go. She gave modest pushback every now and then, but sometimes she all but cheered him on.
This wasn’t journalism. It was more like propaganda.
And it’s not particularly surprising. Bartiromo has long been a far-right apologist. And Trump has long lied about almost everything. It’s just a little stunning to sit through a solid hour of it and realize the danger this kind of thing poses.
Trump began by saying there is ‘something wrong’ with Kamala Harris
Trump began the interview by saying this about his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris: “She can’t talk. There’s something wrong with the candidate.”
Silence from Bartiromo. The same silence that followed Trump saying of President Joe Biden, “He doesn’t have any idea what’s happening. In all fairness, he spends his day sleeping.”
Trump said he’s leading in every poll in every swing state. He’s not, but that’s typical political posturing. “I know you are leading in all these swing states,” Bartiromo said later. It’s one thing to let him say whatever he wants. Not a good thing, but a thing. It’s quite another to go along with his nonsense.
Former President Donald Trump smiles while delivering remarks on Sept. 12, 2024, at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in Tucson.
And when you ask the presidential candidate for a major political party if he’s worried about violence from terrorists on Election Day and he says what he’s really worried about is “the enemy from within, people within,” who he defines as “radical-left lunatics,” and goes on to say, “They should be very easily handled, if necessary by the National Guard and, if really necessary, the military,” do you not want to know more? Doesn’t this warrant a follow-up question — at least?
Is Trump really saying he would turn the military on political enemies?
Is Trump really saying he would turn the U.S. military on people whose politics he disagrees with? Maybe he misspoke? Maybe he’s joking? Because no candidate could really mean that, right? By the way, if you’re wondering who those enemies are, Trump named Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in California.
Bartiromo just moved on. Pathetic, and dangerous. And yes, Trump certainly sounded like he meant it.
Bartiromo asked Trump about the lies he has spread about federal response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton after he talked repeatedly about “how badly they’ve done with North Carolina, parts of Georgia. A lot of governors have done a good job, but the response from the White House has been terrible, the response from her (Harris, presumably) has been terrible.”
In fact, even Republican governors have praised the federal response. Beyond just campaign mud-slinging, the worry is that the relentless false claims about FEMA aid for hurricane victims is that it will keep people from asking for the help they’re eligible for, and desperately need.
What about Trump’s lie (not her word) that President Biden took money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to use on migrants?
“No, no, it came out from there and everybody knew it and it was released from them, and all of a sudden a week later they have a different scenario,” Trump said.
Do you have proof? That’s one question that comes to mind. Too bad Bartiromo didn’t ask it.
Bartiromo did ask a couple of good questions. Though again, the follow-up was either approving nods or just nothing at all. She asked about Trump’s supposed 200% tariffs — this would increase the cost of goods, she pointed out. He said it wouldn’t, without giving any explanation, and she said, “It’s got to be passed on somehow.” At this point Trump basically said it was more of a theoretical number used as a threat.
And isn’t it dangerous to encourage Israel to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities? “No, you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
You can’t call this journalism. You can call it irresponsible
During the interview, the chyrons at the bottom of the screen offered nuggets like these: “Trump holds massive rallies on the campaign trail” and “Trump: We are running to save our country.”
There was more, but you get the idea. This was the safest of safe spaces. Harris has been criticized for appearing with entertainers like Howard Stern and Stephen Colbert, who obviously support her. (Stern endorsed her. Colbert drank a beer with her.)
But that’s just it — they’re entertainers. Bartiromo is a journalist. At least she used to be. After Sunday’s interview, it’s hard to think of her as anything but a Trump supporter, who brought him onto her show and let him campaign.
Granted, she knows her audience, who will lap this up, whatever “this” is. You can’t call it good journalism. You can call it irresponsible.
The ex-president gave a sit-down interview with Maria Bartiromo, one of the Fox News hosts whose role in pushing Trump’s lies about the 2020 election landed her bosses in the crosshairs of a billion-dollar lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. It was later settled to the tune of $787m.
In the interview, which aired on Sunday, Bartiromo was back on typical form, suggesting that America was headed for possible violence on election day due to scores of immigrants supposedly being let in illegally by the Biden administration. That was a debunked conspiracy the Trump team floated in both 2016 and 2020 — that millions of votes for his opponents came from noncitizens.
But Trump took things a step further, denying Bartiromo’s suggestion that those groups would be the “real” problem on Election Day.
That honor, he said, went to the so-called “enemy within.”
“I don’t think [immigrants] are the problem in terms of election day,” Trump told Bartiromo. “I think the bigger problem are the people from within, we have some very bad people, sick people, radical left lunatics.”
At that point, he suggested a seemingly sinister solution.
Trump floats sending military after US citizens on election day (The Independent)
“And it should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” he said.
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. Not even the people who have come in, who are destroying our country.”
It isn’t clear under what circumstances Trump would view it justifiable to call in US troops against his own countrymen.
But his comments mark a baseless attack and a particularly hollow one coming from someone whose supporters violently attacked the US Capitol in an attempt to stop him from being thrown out of office three years ago.
It is perhaps unsurprising, though.
The ex-president, humiliated by his defeat in 2020, has taken to dehumanizing his opponents’ voters whenever possible. At a rally in Dayton, Ohio, in the spring he claimed that Democrats were “not people, in some cases” while onstage with Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.
Many political analysts have speculated that Trump is already laying the groundwork for efforts to contest the election results this year should be be defeated once again, by seeding conspiracies about non-citizens voting and mail-in ballots which he will possibly use in November and December to argue that the results are tainted.
But mail-in voting has not been proven to be signficantly tainted by fraud in any jurisidiction across the US.
Meanwhile, non-citizen voting is already illegal (despite Republican efforts to pass legislation against it in Congress) and does not occur due to existing state and local election systems having safeguards to prevent it. A 2016 analysis found that only 30 instances of non-citizens attempting to vote were reported in the 2016 election cycle across the whole of the US.
“Donald Trump is suggesting that his fellow Americans are worse ‘enemies’ than foreign adversaries, and he is saying he would use the military against them,” said Ian Sams, a Harris campaign spokesperson. “Taken with his vow to be a dictator on ‘day one,’ calls for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution, and plans to surround himself with sycophants who will give him unchecked, unprecedented power if he returns to office, this should alarm every American who cares about their freedom and security. What Donald Trump is promising is dangerous, and returning him to office is simply a risk Americans cannot afford.”
Trump’s supporters violently besieged the US Capitol in January 2021, injuring dozens of police officers and forcing lawmakers as well as then-Vice President Mike Pence, who was a top target of their fury, to hide in secure locations around the Capitol complex for hours. Their aim was clear: to prevent a vote in the US Senate that would certify the election results from three months prior.
The attack failed, and Joe Biden was sworn in to office just a few weeks later. In the months and years since the riot, Republicans in Congress and around the country have attempted to misinform and misconstrue the reason and intent of the attack, as well as minimize the extent of the violence that day.
You really think Donald Trump was a good president? Look at his record | Opinion
Andres Oppenheimer – October 11, 2024
Here’s the biggest myth that Republican candidate Donald Trump is trying to sell to Americans and to the world: that he was a good president.
Trump’s continuously repeated falsehoods about his record as president have convinced many people who find him to be a horrible person, but nevertheless support him because of what Trump says about his term in office.
“Yes, I know, he’s 78, he’s not as sharp as he used to be, he lies all the time, he has cheated on his wives, he makes racist comments, he is a convicted felon, and he tried to carry out a coup after he lost the last elections. But he was a good president,” a Republican friend told me recently.
Let me share with you some facts to help fight political amnesia. In fact, Trump was one of the worst presidents in recent history. Here are the facts:
A larger deficit
On the economy, Trump left the biggest deficit in U.S. history.
Under Trump, the national debt grew much faster than during his successor Joe Biden. Like most populists, Trump cut taxes and spent as if there were no tomorrow, leaving a national debt that will have to be paid by our children and grandchildren for decades.
The national debt rose by almost $7.8 trillion to $28 trillion during Trump’s four years in office, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The debt has kept growing since, but at a significantly slower pace.
As for the country’s economic growth, the U.S. economy under Trump grew by an overall 6.8%. By comparison, it grew by 8.4% in the Biden years.
On the jobs’ front, Trump left office with 3 million fewer jobs than there were when he entered the White House. Granted, that was largely because of the pandemic, but Biden has added nearly 16 million jobs since then.
Granted, inflation was lower under Trump than under Biden. The pandemic disrupted supply chains from China and made consumer prices soar in America in 2021 and 2022. But inflation has since fallen to 2.4%, close to its pre-pandemic levels.
A weakened democracy
On democracy, Trump undermined democratic institutions and the rule of law like no other American president in recent memory. He is the first U.S. president I can remember who tried to stage a coup d’etat to stay in power.
Trump falsely claims to this day that he won the 2020 election, even after more than 60 courts and the conservative-majority Supreme Court found his objections to be unsubstantiated.
Then, he tacitly tried to incite rebellion on Jan. 6, 2021, when he waited for hours before trying to stop a pro-Trump mob from invading the U.S. Capitol in hopes of overturning the election result. He continues to praise the violent rioters who injured more than 100 police officers, calling them “patriots” and government “hostages.”
Emboldening dictators
On foreign policy, Trump weakened America’s standing in the world by picking fights with the closest U.S. allies while at the same time embracing dictators such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord and threatened to abandon the U.S.-European NATO military alliance. Trump’s threats to leave NATO significantly damaged the group’s unity and probably encouraged Putin to plan his 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trump deserves credit for the Abraham Accords to help establish diplomatic ties between Israel and some Arab countries. But if you look at the world in terms of superpower-led blocs, Trump left power in 2020 with a weaker Western alliance and a stronger China and Russia.
Reproductive rights
On abortion, Trump appointed three conservative Supreme Court judges who played a crucial role in overturning Roe v. Wade, a ruling that had made abortions legal in the country for nearly 50 years. As a result, some states banned abortions, and some women reportedly died because they could not get proper medical care to end their pregnancies.
More hatred
On crime, hate crimes increased by 28% during Trump’s term and hate-motivated murders, mainly committed by white supremacists, reached their highest number in 28 years, according to FBI statistics.
Trump has exacerbated racial hatred in the country since he started his 2016 campaign falsely declaring that most Mexican undocumented immigrants are “rapists” and are “bringing crime” to America. In 2017, he said that there were “very fine people” among white supremacists and the anti-racism demonstrators who were protesting against them in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump’s racist statements have worsened since. He recently falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of Americans in Springfield, Ohio. In an Oct. 7 radio interview, Trump said that unauthorized migrants who committed violent crimes have “bad genes,” a language reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s efforts to dehumanize Jews.
Also, in 2020, the last year of the Trump presidency, there was the biggest one-year increase in the number of murders since the 1960s, according the Politifact fact checking website. In addition to the pandemic and the George Floyd riots, Democrats attribute the 30% rise in murders to the relaxation of gun control laws under Trump.
False border promises
On immigration, Trump never completed the border fence nor got Mexico to pay for it, as he had promised in his 2016 campaign. Trump now claims to have built much of the current 654 miles of border wall, but most of it was already in place and repaired or upgraded during his years in office, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
On the COVID-19 Pandemic, Trump scorned face masks and at one point asked Americans to inject themselves with disinfectant to fight the virus. Scientists say many of the 400,000 Covid deaths during his presidency could have been averted if he had exhorted people to get vaccinated.
The list of Trump administration failures goes on and on. So if you are planning to vote for Trump because of something specific he has promised, and you are willing to believe a compulsive liar, go ahead. But please don’t tell me he was a good president: he was a disaster on virtually all fronts.
Don’t miss the “Oppenheimer Presenta” TV show on Sundays at 9 pm E.T. on CNN en Español. Blog: andresoppenheimer.com
“The whole country is going to be like, you want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands,” he said. “We’re not going to let her do that to this country. We’re not gonna let it happen.”
Trump told his Detroit audience that “Your car industry is going out of business” but claimed that the “nightmare” for the industry would be over if he’s elected.
There were around 1,000 attendees at the MotorCity Casino Hotel event, during which Trump suggested that Detroit is more “developing” than “most places in China,” referring to it as a “once great city.”
Trump also claimed that he would create a “Michigan miracle” and a “stunning rebirth” of the city if he’s elected.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan slammed Trump for his recent comments about Detroit (AFP via Getty Images)
“Detroit just hosted the largest NFL Draft in history, the Tigers are back in the playoffs, the Lions are headed to the Super Bowl, crime is down and our population is growing. Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help,” Duggan wrote. “Numbers and Facts don’t lie. Detroit is the beacon of light. The beacon of progress. The beacon of resurgence.”
Duggan added on Instagram: “We’ve got record low homicide rates and we’re growing our population for the first time since the 1950s.”
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wrote on X: “As a Detroiter, I am proud of our gritty city. As a board member of the @deteconomicclub, I attended Mr. Trump’s speech today. And I was shocked to witness him bash our city. It hurt me personally, and I’m sure hurt a lot of Michiganders.”
The speaker of the Michigan state House, Democrat Joe Tate, said Trump, “might not remember where he is right now, so here’s a quick reminder about what Detroit’s all about. This is the greatest city in the country, and we’ve bounced back after Trump killed our jobs, closed our businesses, and tried to throw out our votes.”
Donald Trump painted a bleak picture during his address to the Detroit Economic Club (AP)
“Detroit threw Trump out of the White House last time, and we’ll do it again,” he added on X.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has endorsed the ex-president. Trump commuted his 28-year sentence for public corruption shortly before leaving the White House in January 2021, the Detroit News noted.
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer also responded to Trump’s comments on social media, writing: “Detroit is the epitome of ‘grit,’ defined by winners willing to get their hands dirty to build up their city and create their communities—something Donald Trump could never understand. So keep Detroit out of your mouth. And you better believe Detroiters won’t forget this in November.”
State Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow said, “As a proud elected representative of tens of thousands of Detroiters: F*** this guy. Don’t come back.”
Trump Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita said in a statement cited by WDIV that the former president “remembers when Detroit was lauded as the gold standard for auto manufacturing success and revolutionized the industry. Detroit has suffered from globalist policies championed by Kamala Harris that have shipped manufacturing overseas.”
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer told Trump to keep the city’s name out of his mouth (AP)
City of Detroit District 5 Council President Mary Sheffield criticized Trump for being “uninformed.”
“As a proud Detroiter and representative of this resilient city, I find it deeply disappointing to hear such uninformed remarks. Detroit is not a ‘mess.’ We are a city of strength, perseverance, and progress,” she said in a statement. “Our community has worked hard to overcome challenges, and we’ve seen incredible growth, investment, and revitalization.”
Jemele Hill, a contributing writer to The Atlantic who grew up in Detroit, shared her advice for Michigan Democrats on X: “If I’m @GovWhitmer and the Michigan Dem Party, I plaster this on everything — billboards, TV ads, etc.”
She added: “He insulted the entire city and it isn’t the first time. He’s invalidated Detroit voters countless times and instructed his people to riot in Detroit over the vote count in 2020. For the Detroit Economic Club to invite this absolute clown to speak there is a slap in the face to all Detroiters.”
Obama Roasts Trump for Everything From Selling Bibles to Needing a Diaper at Pittsburgh Rally | Video
Sharon Knolle – October 10, 2024
Barack Obama laid into fellow former President Donald Trump so thoroughly on Thursday that more than one X user quipped, “I’d like to report a murder.“
Obama, speaking at a rally in Pittsburgh, ticked off a long list of reasons why voters should reject Trump and vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris next month.
He disparaged “the constant attempts to sell you stuff” including gold sneakers, a $100,000 watch and the Trump Bible. “Who does that?” asked Obama with an incredulous shrug.
“You know, he wants you to buy the word of God, Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke,” he said of Trump’s “God Bless the USA Bibles,” which, it was reported this week, were printed in China. They are priced at $59.99 each.
Obama: Constant attempts to sell you stuff. Who does that? Selling you gold sneakers and $100,000 watch and most recently, a trump bible. You know, he wants you to buy the word of god, Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke. pic.twitter.com/JUzkTQikU3
The 44th president continued to blast the 45th, recalling his shock at finding out how much diapers cost after his oldest daughter Malia was born. “Do you think Donald Trump ever changed a diaper?,” he asked about the father of five.
One attendee shouted, “His own!”
Obama admitted with a laugh, “I almost said that, but I decided I should not say it.”
Trump was dubbed “Diaper Don” by the media in 2020 over reports that he wore adult diapers while filming the reality competition “The Apprentice.”
Trump supporters not only shrugged at the suggestion when it resurfaced during Trump’s tax fraud trial earlier this year, but proudly began wearing the absorbent underwear themselves at campaign events and carrying signs that read “real men wear diapers.”
Obama also blasted Trump for taking credit for the state of the economy when he took office in 2017. “I remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good. Yeah, it was pretty good, because it was my economy. It wasn’t something he did. I spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me,” he said.
Watch a clip from the rally in the video above, and click through to @Acyn’s X account for more.
Fact check: Trump, on a lying spree, made at least 40 separate false claims in two Pennsylvania speeches
Daniel Dale, CNN – October 10, 2024
Former President Donald Trump is on a lying spree.
As Election Day draws nearer, the Republican presidential nominee has made false claim after false claim on a dizzying variety of subjects. He has both come up with new falsehoods on pressing issues, most notably the federal response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and repeated old favorites about subjects he has been railing about since his 2016 presidential campaign.
We went through the speeches Trump made at his two Wednesday campaign rallies in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, one in Scranton and one in Reading. In those two addresses alone, he uttered at least 40 separate false claims.
Here is a fact check.
FEMA and migrants: Trump falsely claimed of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: “They have no money. You know where they gave the money? To illegal immigrants coming in.” He also said, “They spent all their funds; they have no funds to take care…”
This is false in two ways. FEMA does have money for the immediate responses to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, though a string of recent disasters has depleted its disaster relief fund; the fund had about $11 billion remaining as of Wednesday. And FEMA did not give all of its disaster relief money to undocumented people; rather, as mandated by Congress, FEMA also administers an entirely separate pool of money for sheltering migrants.
FEMA and employees: Trump added another false claim about FEMA, saying: “They have no workers, they have no nothing.” FEMA has more than 20,000 employees.
Harris and the response: Trump falsely claimed that as desperate people tried to survive Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Vice President Kamala Harris “didn’t send anything or anyone at all” to help them. There were extensive federal and state rescue and relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene. It’s true that some residents died and others were stranded for days, but the state was not ignored by Harris or the Biden administration; North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has repeatedly thanked President Joe Biden for his assistance.
Schools and transgender children: Trump told a slightly vaguer version of his usual false story about schools supposedly obtaining or performing gender-affirming surgeries for transgender children behind their parents’ backs, saying, “Your child go goes to school, and they take your child. It was a ‘he.’ And comes back a ‘she.’ And they do this…And often without parental consent.”
There is no evidence that US schools have sent children into gender-affirming surgeries without their parents knowing or performed gender-affirming surgeries on site; Trump’s own presidential campaign could not provide a single example of any of this ever happening. Even in states where gender-affirming surgery is legal for people under age 18, parental consent is required before a minor can undergo such a procedure.
Trump’s opponents and the election: In Reading, Trump falsely claimed of his election opponents: “They are cheatin’ dogs, I will tell you that.” In Scranton, he falsely claimed, “Their first meeting is: ‘How do we cheat?’” This is all nonsense. There is no basis for the claim that Trump’s opponents are election cheaters.
Harris’ previous presidential campaign: Trump repeated his false claim that, when Harris ran for president in 2020, “she was the first one to drop out, of like 22 people” in the Democratic primary. In fact, 13 other Democratic candidates dropped out of that primary before Harris exited in December 2019 – including the sitting or former governors of Washington, Montana and Colorado; the sitting mayor of New York City; andsitting or former members of the House of Representatives and Senate.
Harris and the press: Trump falsely claimed of Harris: “She doesn’t do any interviews.” Trump is entitled to argue that Harris has not done a sufficient number of interviews as the Democratic presidential nominee, but the assertion she doesn’t do “any” is wrong; Harris has done multiple interviews in recent weeks. Notably, Harris did an interview with the CBS News show “60 Minutes,” which aired Monday, while Trump backed out of his own interview with the show.
Harris-Walz and the Supreme Court: After correctly noting that Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, recently expressed support for getting rid of the Electoral College, Trump falsely claimed, “They want to add… they’re thinking about – first time I heard this number – 25: they want to have 25 Supreme Court justices.” There is no basis for the claim that Harris or Walz is pushing for a 25-justice Supreme Court.
Walz and menstrual products in schools: Trump disparaged Walz as “Tampon Tim,” then said, “You know why they call him that? ’Cause they sell tampons, with special legislation, in boys’ locker rooms.” Trump’s claim is false. The law Walz signed in 2023 requires schools to provide free menstrual products in bathrooms, not the sale of menstrual products in locker rooms – and all 18 public school districts that responded to CNN’s questions about the law say they do not provide the products in boys’ bathrooms. You can read more here.
Wind power: Trump repeated a familiar nonsensical story about how the use of wind power means people “can’t watch” television if “there’s no wind tonight.” Using wind power as part of a mix of power sources does not cause power outages when the wind isn’t blowing, as the federal Department of Energy explained on its website even during the Trump administration.
The Biden administration and electric vehicles: Trump falsely claimed that under a Biden administration electric vehicle mandate, “everybody’s got to have an electric car almost immediately.” There is no Biden administration requirement that consumers must buy an electric car or give up their existing gas-powered cars, “almost immediately” or otherwise. The Biden administration has made a push to get automakers to reduce emissions and adopt electric vehicles, but there is not a mandate for consumers; the tailpipe rules for automakers that were unveiled by the administration earlier this year aim to have electric vehicles make up 35% to 56% new vehicles sold in 2032.
The Paris climate accord and emissions: Trump repeated his false claim that under the Paris climate accord, the US “had to pay a trillion dollars” while some other countries didn’t have to pay.
Trump’s “trillion” figure is a wild exaggeration. Under the Obama administration, the US paid $1 billion of a $3 billion commitment it originally made in 2014. After Trump pulled the country out of the Paris accord, the US paid nothing to the global finance goal. And while Biden pledged $11.4 billion annually from the US, this level of funding hasn’t materialized. That’s because Congress, responsible for appropriating the nation’s budget, has allocated only a fraction of that – roughly $1 billion in 2022.
Harris’ comments on fracking: Trump said, “Listen to Kamala in her own words very recently,” then played two video clips in which Harris said she was in favor of banning fracking. But those clips are from 2019, beyond any reasonable definition of “very recently.” Harris has said during the 2024 campaign that she no longer favors banning fracking.
Venezuela, prisons and migration: Trump falsely claimed, “In Venezuela, many countries, they’re emptying their prisons into our country.” This is false. Trump has never corroborated this claim about Venezuela, let alone “many countries,” and experts have told CNN, PolitiFact and FactCheck.org that they know of no evidence for it.
“We have no evidence that the Venezuelan government is emptying its prisons or mental health institutions to send them outside the country, in other words, to the U.S. or any other country,” Roberto Briceño-León, founder and director of the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, an independent organization that tracks violence in the country, said in an email to CNN in June, after Trump made similar claims.
Venezuela, criminals and migration: Adding another colorful story about Venezuela, Trump falsely claimed that “they take the criminal gangs from Caracas off the streets and they bus them into the United States and drop them.” This is false. There is no evidence of Venezuelan authorities somehow busing gang members into the US.
The world prison population: Trump repeated his false claim that “the prison population all over the world is down, because they put them in our country.” The recorded global prison population increased from October 2021 to April 2024, from at least about 10.77 million people to at least about 10.99 million people, according to the World Prison Population List compiled by experts in the United Kingdom.
“I do a daily news search to see what’s going on in prisons around the world and have seen absolutely no evidence that any country is emptying its prisons and sending them all to the US,” Helen Fair, co-author of the prison population list and research fellow at the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London, said in June, when Trump made a similar claim.
The number of migrants: Trump, speaking about migration, falsely claimed that “21 million people – plus – came into our nation” under the Biden-Harris administration. Through August, the country had recorded about 10.3 million nationwide “encounters” with migrants during the Biden-Harris administration, including millions who were rapidly expelled from the country; even adding in so-called “gotaways” who evaded detection, estimated by House Republicans as being roughly 2 million, there’s no way the total is “21 million.”
Harris, migrants and criminals: Trump, criticizing Harris on immigration, again wrongly described a set of statistics that was released in September. He falsely claimed in Scranton, “You saw that last week: 13,099 murderers allowed to come in, through them.” He falsely claimed in Reading that “as we speak she has – and this was just announced last week – 13,099, so over 13,000 illegal alien convicted murderers, roaming free in our country.”
This 13,099 figure includes people who are incarcerated in federal, state and local prisons and jails – and it includes people who entered the country over decades, including during Trump’s administration, not just under Biden and Harris. You can read more here.
Harris’ record as attorney general: Trump falsely claimed that when Harris was attorney general of California, “she said under no circumstances” will people be prosecuted for the crimes of child sex trafficking, assault with a deadly weapon or the rape of an unconscious person. Harris did not say anything like that; Trump was grossly mischaracterizing a debate over the language Harris’ office used to summarize California ballot initiatives.
Trump’s border wall: Trump repeated his false claim that “I built over 500 miles of wall” on the southern border. Official government data shows 458 miles were built under Trump – including both wall built where no barriers had existed before and wall built to replace previous barriers.
Trump’s crowds: Trump falsely claimed of his rallies: “We never have an empty seat.” There have been empty seats at numerous Trump rallies over the years – including hundreds at this very rally in Reading. And at many Trump rallies, some once-filled seats empty out during his speeches when supporters leave.
Trump’s crowd in Butler: Trump falsely claimed there were “over 100,000 people” at the rally he held Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the same site where a gunman had attempted to assassinate him in July. CNN affiliate KDKA in Pittsburgh reported that the Secret Service put the crowd at 24,000 people, while the Trump-supporting sheriff of Blair County, Pennsylvania, James Ott, said in his speech at the rally itself (more than three hours before Trump took the stage) that he was looking out at “21,000-plus people.”
Trump’s response to the assassination attempt: Trump, speaking of his response to the attempted assassination in July, falsely claimed, “I said as I was getting up – before I even got up – I said, ‘How many people were killed?’ Because, you know, it was wall to wall people, and I said, ‘How many people were killed?’ They said, ‘We think three, sir,’ and I said, ‘That’s not good.’”
Trump’s rally microphone picked up what was said by Trump and Secret Service agents while he was on the ground and just after, and he did not ask, before or after he got up, how many people were killed. It’s possible he did so after he was whisked off stage (and, of course, possible he was genuinely misremembering what happened in such a traumatic moment).
Trump and firefighters: Trump falsely claimed, “We got the firefighters endorse us, you probably heard.” But the actual recent national news was that the International Association of Firefighters had decided not to endorse any candidate in the race; while Trump is free to argue that this was a victory for him, given that the union endorsed Biden in 2020, it was not an actual endorsement. And while there were some people in the Scranton crowd holding “Scranton Firefighters for Trump” signs, the Scranton chapter of the union also has not issued an endorsement. The president of the chapter told the Scranton Times-Tribune that none of the people he saw holding the signs were active or retired local firefighters.
Trump and classified documents: Speaking of the criminal case against him over his post-presidency retention of classified documents, Trump repeated his false claim that “I had the Presidential Records Act; I was totally allowed to do it.” The Presidential Records Act says that, the moment a president leaves office, the National Archives and Records Administration gets custody and control of all presidential records from their administration. (Trump’s case was dismissed by a federal judge in July on other grounds, that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional; Smith has appealed.)
The New York Times and the Russia investigation: Trump, calling claims about his 2016 campaign’s connections to Russia a “scam,” repeated his false claim that The New York Times “admitted they were wrong” about the coverage that won its journalists a Pulitzer Prize along with journalists from The Washington Post.
“The claim is completely false,” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in an email to CNN in 2023, when Trump made a similar claim; Stadtlander noted that “the award was upheld by the Pulitzer Prize Board after an independent review” and said the Times’ reporting “was also substantiated by the Mueller investigation and Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into the matter.”
The New York Times and the 2016 election: Trump repeated a false claim he made during his presidency, saying of The New York Times’ coverage of the 2016 election: “Remember in 2016 they had to do an editorial apologizing to their readers because they said, ‘He’s going to lose’…and then I won?”
As the Times noted in 2017 in response to such Trump claims, it did not apologize for its 2016 election coverage. It did publish a post-election letter, from then-executive editor Dean Baquet and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., that said the election had raised several questions, including this: “Did Donald Trump’s sheer unconventionality lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters?” But the letter did not include an apology, to Trump or anyone else.
Trump and the defeat of ISIS: Trump repeated his false claim that “we defeated ISIS in four weeks; it was supposed to take four or five years.” The ISIS “caliphate” was declared fully liberated more than two years into Trump’s presidency.
Military equipment surrendered to the Taliban: Trump repeated his false claim that “we gave $85 billion worth” of US military equipment to the Taliban. Trump’s figure is a massive exaggeration; the Pentagon has estimated that the equipment abandoned to the Taliban by Afghan forces upon their 2021 collapse was worth about $7.1 billion – a chunk of the roughly $18.6 billion worth of equipment provided to Afghan forces between 2005 and 2021.
Biden and foreign income: Trump repeated his false claim that “Biden got a lot of money from China.” After years of investigation by House Republicans, there is still no evidence Biden has received any Chinese money.
Chris Wallace and a question about the Biden family: Trump told his familiar false story about how he had asked Biden at a 2020 presidential debate why the wife of a mayor of Moscow had paid Biden $3.5 million – in fact, the money was sent to a firm connected to the president’s son Hunter Biden, not to the president – but moderator Chris Wallace, then of Fox News and now of CNN, had interjected to say, “Well, please don’t ask him that question.” Wallace never did that. As the transcript shows, Wallace interjected during this debate exchange to try to get Trump to allow Biden to answer Trump’s question about the payment, not to stop Trump from asking.
Inflation: Trump repeated his false claim that inflation under Biden and Harris is “the worst inflation in the history of our country.” Trump could fairly say that the US inflation rate hit a 40-year high in June 2022, when it was 9.1%, but that was not close to the all-time record of 23.7%, set in 1920, and the rate has since plummeted; the most recent available inflation rate at the time Trump spoke here was 2.5% in August.
Mortgage rates: Trump falsely claimed that young people can’t buy a house because interest rates are higher than 10%: “It’s not 10%, it’s 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 percent.” This is false. The average rate on a standard 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.12% in the week ending October 3, according to mortgage financing provider Freddie Mac, and 6.32% in the week ending October 10.
Trump’s tax cut: Trump repeated his false claim that “I gave you, as you know, the largest tax cut in the history of our country.” Expert analyses have found that his 2017 tax cut law was not the largest in US history, either in percentage of gross domestic product or in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Tariffs on China: Trump repeated two of his regular false claims about tariffs on imported Chinese products. He falsely claimed that China “paid hundreds of billions of dollars” in these tariffs during his presidency, then falsely claimed that before his presidency, “nobody ever brought in 10 cents, not one other – not 10 cents, you check those records.”
The 1890s and tariffs: Touting the supposed benefits of tariffs, Trump falsely claimed that in the 1890s, when the US had very high tariffs, “Our country was the richest it ever was.” The US is far richer today than in the 1890s; per capita gross domestic product is now many times higher than it was then.
The trade deficit with China: Trump repeated his frequent false claim that the US trade deficit with China has averaged “$500 billion” per year. The US has never had a $500 billion trade deficit with China even if you only count trade in goods and ignore the services trade in which the US traditionally runs a surplus with China; the all-time record, about $418 billion, was set under Trump in 2018.
Harris and taxes: Trump played a deceptively edited video showing “The View” co-host Meghan McCain saying to Harris in 2019, “Everything from a 70 to 80% tax rate,” and Harris responding, “I think that’s fantastic.”
This video cuts out key words from the exchange; Harris was not specifically endorsing high tax rates when she made the “fantastic” comment.
Here’s the transcript of the 2019 exchange:
McCain: “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the new darling of the party. She officially has more Twitter followers than Nancy Pelosi. She was on ‘60 Minutes’ this weekend proudly calling herself a radical. And she’s promoting policies like saying that every single carbon emission in the country, every car, should be eliminated within the next 11 years, everything from a 70 to 80 percent tax rate. Do you agree that she could possibly – and this ideology, of the socialist left – could splinter your party?”
Harris: “No. You know, I think that she is challenging the status quo. I think that’s fantastic. I think that – you know, I used to teach, before, especially before – in the last few years – and the thing that I always loved about teaching was when you teach, it requires you to defend the premise. And it requires you to re-examine the premise. And question, is it still relevant? Is it – does it have impact? Does it have meaning? And I think that she is introducing bold ideas that should be discussed. And I think it’s good for the party, I frankly think it’s good for the country. Let’s look at the bold ideas. And I’m eager that we have those discussions. And when we are able to defend status quo, then do it, and if there are – you know, if there’s not merit to that, then let’s explore new ideas.”
Biden’s documents case: Trump falsely claimed in Reading that, in an investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, “Biden was essentially convicted” and in Scranton that “they ruled on him, they said he’s guilty.” Biden was not convicted, “essentially” or not, and was not found guilty; in fact, Biden was not even charged with a crime. The special counsel in the case, Robert Hur, wrote in his public report that “the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” adding that “several defenses are likely to create reasonable doubt as to such charges.”
A supposed Biden gaffe: Mocking Biden’s gaffes, Trump falsely claimed, “But the worst was when he was in New Hampshire and he said, ‘It’s great to be in Florida.’ That’s palm trees.” This never happened. Biden has certainly made various geographic gaffes, as hasTrump, but he never said he was in Florida when he was actually in New Hampshire.
Longevity Experts Say This Seemingly “Healthy” Habit Can Actually Take Years Off Your Life
Emily Laurence – October 10, 2024
Aleksandr Zubkov via Getty Images
Getting 10,000 steps a day. Improving your VO2 max. Putting berries on your breakfast. What are the habits you embrace in an effort to live a long, healthy life? Certainly it’s the routines we do regularly that impact our health the most.
But there’s one well-intentioned habit in particular that longevity experts say can actually take years off your life instead of adding more to it: eating too much animal-based protein. Thought a high-protein diet was a good thing? As doctors explain here, getting too much can backfire.
Why Overemphasizing Protein Isn’t Actually Healthy
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Before we get into why too much protein isn’t good for longevity, it’s important to note that the nutrient is absolutely important. Dr. Suzanne J. Ferree, who is double-board-certified in family medicine and anti-aging and regenerative medicine, told HuffPost that it’s especially important to get enough as we age.
“The common theory is that we need to cut protein-rich foods as we age, but the research actually only supports this in younger people, not in those of us over 50,” Ferree said. Scientific research backs this up, showing that older adults need more protein than younger adults because our bodies naturally lose muscle as we age.
So yes, protein is absolutely important. How much protein a person needs each day varies based on one’s individual health and needs, but the Food and Drug Administration recommends aiming for 50 grams of protein a day as part of a 2,000-calorie diet. The problem is that many people are eating more protein than they need. On top of that, Americans are overconsuming a specific type of protein that isn’t all that healthy.
In general, there are two types of proteins: animal-based proteins and plant-based proteins. Research has shown that plant-based proteins are healthier than animal-based proteins. Unfortunately, Americans are consuming more of the latter than the former.
“A common mistake is the overemphasis on consuming a high-protein diet, particularly one rich in animal-based proteins, with the belief that it is essential for longevity and muscle preservation. Many people assume that the more protein they consume, the healthier they will be, leading to an overconsumption of animal products like meat, dairy and eggs,” said Dr. Monisha Bhanote, a quintuple-board-certified physician and longevity expert.
Most Americans are eating about 100 grams of protein a day, double the recommended amount. According to a Dietary Guidelines for Americans report, 75% of Americans meet or exceed the recommendation for meat, poultry and eggs. Bhanote says this is exactly what can take years off one’s life.
Anna Blazhuk / Getty Images
“Excessive consumption of animal-based proteins can actually accelerate aging and undermine cellular health, contrary to popular belief,” she said. She explained that the biggest reasons for this come down to two harmful compounds: advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO).
“AGEs are harmful compounds that form when proteins or fats combine with sugar in the bloodstream,” Bhanote said. She explained that animal-based foods — especially if they are grilled, fried or roasted — are high in AGEs. Research shows that these compounds can accumulate in your tissues and, over time, can lead to oxidative stress and inflammation, which are key drivers of cellular aging. “AGEs damage proteins, DNA and other vital cellular structures, accelerating the aging process and contributing to chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s,” Bhanote said.
What about TMAO? Bhanote explained that elevated levels of TMAO have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke — all of which obviously are not good for longevity. “TMAO promotes the accumulation of cholesterol in the arteries and impairs the body’s ability to remove it, leading to inflammation and further damage to the cardiovascular system. This not only compromises heart health but also affects overall cellular function and longevity,” Bhanote said.
Related to the mistake many people make of overemphasizing protein in their diet, Raghav Sehgal, a Ph.D. student and Gruber fellow at Yale University whose research focuses on human aging, told HuffPost that one common mistake people make when it comes to longevity is focusing on “miracle diets” promising fast results. The biggie that’s relevant here: the ketogenic diet, which prioritizes fat and protein while minimizing carbohydrates. For many people doing keto, meat and eggs are hero foods; however, as previously explained, eating too many animal products can take years off your life.
How To Use Protein To Work For You, Not Against You
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So, how should we approach protein with an eye toward longevity? Bhanote and Sehgal are of the same mind about this: Eat more protein-rich plants and fish.
While fish certainly isn’t a plant, it is thought of differently than animal-based proteins because it has a completely different nutritional makeup than meat, and scientific research has repeatedly shown benefits to human health when consumed regularly. Eating fish regularly has been associated with reducing the risk of premature death by 12%.
Sehgal explained that plant-based proteins (such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy, nuts and seeds) are loaded with antioxidants, fiber and nutrients that keep our hearts healthy, reduce inflammation and lower the risk of chronic diseases. “These foods are naturally low in AGEs and do not contribute to TMAO production, making them much gentler on your cells and overall health,” Bhanote added.
Scientific studies show that having a diet that prioritizes plant-based proteins lowers the risk of mortality associated with cardiovascular disease and other causes. In other words, replacing animal proteins with plant proteins can add years to your life.
Again, no one is disputing that protein is important. It’s crucial to get enough and, as Ferree pointed out, it’s especially important to get enough as we age. But other nutrients are important too, which is why Sehgal said the best diet for longevity is a balanced one that includes a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods.
The benefit of eating a balanced diet full of plants certainly isn’t revolutionary news, but it is backed up by many scientific studies. When it comes to longevity — and health in general — science-backed wins out over trendy and new. This article originally appeared onHuffPost.
