This has been updated with numbers as of Dec. 30
Combined with the rest of his presidency, that adds up to a total of 7,645 claims through Dec. 30, the 710th day of his term in office, according to The Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president.
The flood of presidential misinformation picked up dramatically as the president campaigned across the country, holding rallies with his supporters. Each of those rallies usually yielded 35 to 45 suspect claims. But the president often tacked on interviews with local media (in which he repeats the same false statements) and gaggles with the White House press corps before and after his trips.
The second biggest month was November, with 866 claims, and that’s largely because of the president’s rallies just before the Nov. 6 election. Four of his five most prolific days for falsehoods fell in November.
- Nov. 5, when he held rallies in Fort Wayne, Ind., Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Cleveland: 139 claims.
- Nov. 3, when he held rallies in Pensacola, Fla., and Belgrade, Mont.: 130 claims.
- Nov. 2, when he held rallies in Indianapolis and Huntington, W.Va.: 97 claims.
- Nov. 26, when he held two rallies in advance of a special election in Mississippi: 90 claims.
More than a quarter of Trump’s claims, 2,030, came during campaign rallies. An additional 1,944 came during remarks during press events, and 1,314 were the result of the president’s itchy Twitter finger.
The president’s proclivity to twist data and fabricate stories is on full display at his rallies. He has his greatest hits: 125 times he had falsely said he passed the biggest tax cut in history, 110 times he has asserted that the U.S. economy today is the best in history, and 94 times he has falsely said his border wall is already being built. (Congress has allocated only $1.6 billion for fencing, but Trump also frequently mentioned additional funding that has not yet been appropriated.) All three of those claims are on The Fact Checker’s list of Bottomless Pinocchios.
In terms of subjects, false or misleading claims about immigration top the list, totaling 1,130. Claims about foreign policy and trade tied for second, with 822 claims, followed by claims about the economy (768) and jobs (741).
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