5 Things That Trump Lies About To Keep Us Dangerously Distracted (VIDEO)

It seems that the lies Trump told on the campaign trail have followed him into his presidency.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the biggest lies Trump and his administration have told since inauguration day.

1. Murder Rates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU9Z5miUhJA

“The murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.”

In reality, the highest murder rates in recent history occurred during the early 1990s. During the past 47 years, there have been upticks in the murder rate, but that is very different than what Trump is claiming here. The murder rate today has been in a steady decline overall since 1993, even though the population has been steadily increasing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZpldHT1bds

“Here in Philadelphia murder has been steady, I mean, just terribly increasing.”

In reality, there was no increase. In fact, the murder rate was lower in 2016 than it was in 2015. The mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, said that Trump’s statement is:

“…An insult to the men and women of the Philadelphia police force.”

Donald Trump's Lies Are Dangerous For Democracy

“In our nation’s capital, killings rose by 50 percent.”

In reality, the  Metropolitan Police Department reports that there were 162 homicides in 2015 whereas there were 135 homicides in 2016. Those numbers represent a decrease of 17 percent from 2015 to 2016.

Trump’s lies about crime in America are ridiculously easy to debunk.

2. Money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP17ot9fOmY

“I have already saved more than $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35.”

In reality, the government and Lockheed Martin have been working toward reducing the costs for years. Before Trump ever met with Lockheed, the pentagon had already announced the cost savings. Trump simply took credit for it.

“We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth … of our country has dissipated over the horizon.”

In reality, the United States is still the wealthiest country in the world whether measured by GDP or GDP per capita, the two most common measures of wealth used by economists. Further, U.S. GDP has only decreased in one year (2009) since 1960.

3. The Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wvaJzZ25yE

Terror attacks are “not even being reported” by the media.

In reality, the media did cover most of the 78 attacks on the list issued by the White House, including those that weren’t actual “terrorist” attacks. USA Today, for example, published more than 200 articles covering the 78 terror attacks on the White House list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6rrwDpkEBA

“[The media] made it sound like I had a feud with the intelligence community.”

In reality, Trump repeatedly and publicly questioned U.S. intelligence services. In several tweets, he put the word  “intelligence” in quotes, called operatives “sleazebags”, said intelligence agencies were reporting “fake news”, and said he doesn’t trust them.

4. The Muslim Ban

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbeNlrV1e6A

“109 people out of hundreds of thousands of travelers” were affected.

In reality, the actual number of people was about 90,000. The 109 figure represented the daily number of travelers, not the total number of people affected by the travel ban. Here’s a breakdown for each of the 7 countries that were banned:

  • Iran: 35,363 nonimmigrant visas, 7,179 immigrant visas
  • Iraq: 13,499 nonimmigrant visas, 2,010 immigrant visas
  • Syria: 10,061 nonimmigrant visas, 1,901 immigrant visas
  • Sudan: 5,080 nonimmigrant visas, 1,642 immigrant visas
  • Yemen: 4,525 nonimmigrant visas, 3,143 immigrant visas
  • Libya: 3,303 nonimmigrant visa, 272 immigrant visas
  • Somalia: 331 nonimmigrant visas, 1,078 immigrant visas

Donald Trump's Lies Are Dangerous For Democracy

“My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months.”

In reality, Obama’s Iraqi visa policy in 2011 did not ban Iraqis from entering the country. On the contrary, Iraqi refugees were continually admitted into the U.S. during this time in 2011. Trump’s travel ban is quite unlike the historical “bans” to which many on social media are comparing it.

“If you were a Muslim, you could come in, if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible.”

In reality, Christian refugees have always been able to enter the U.S. As a matter of fact, admissions actually skew in favor of Christians. For example, 199 Christian refugees have been admitted since the U.S. started taking in refugees from Syria. It’s hardly “impossible” if 199 people were able to do it.

Donald Trump's Lies Are Dangerous For Democracy

Smart! ‘Kuwait issues its own Trump-esque visa ban for five Muslim-majority countries'”

In reality, Kuwait didn’t issue any bans. The link posted to Trump’s Facebook page was a false news report that he didn’t bother to fact check before posting.

5. Inauguration Crowd Size

“That was the largest audience to witness an inauguration, period.”

In reality, photographic evidence refutes the claim that Trump had the “largest audience.” Apparently, Trump can’t stand the embarrassment of having the smallest crowd.

It’s more important than ever to fact-check everything you hear and not fall prey to the Trump’s “alternative facts.”

Featured Image via screenshot from YouTube video