Analysis, National

Day Three of Donald Trump’s Convention: Lies About Hillary Clinton


OHIO–(ENEWSPF)–July 21, 2016.  Third time was not the charm for the speakers at the Republican National Convention trying to stick to the facts when talking about Hillary Clinton.  Once again, there were too many lies, distortions and exaggerations to count, but here are a sample of the falsehoods told from the podium.

But, to start, just for good measure, one lie from the stage about Donald Trump:

FALSE CLAIM: Businessman, Phil Ruffin: “He always pays his bills promptly. You won’t hear that. Promptly.”

TRUTH: PolitiFact: “ USA Today investigation found a large number of lawsuits — at least 60, plus hundreds of liens, judgments and other filings — because people have accused Trump of failing to pay for services rendered or products delivered. The complaints even come from law firms that had formerly represented Trump in these types of lawsuits. […] We rate the statement False.”

And now back to the lies about Hillary Clinton…

1. FALSE CLAIM: Mike Pence: And it was Hillary Clinton who left Americans in harm’s way in Benghazi and after four Americans fell, said “What difference at this point does it make?”

TRUTH: ABC News: “Claim: Clinton said that ‘what difference, at this point, does it make?’ in discussing the deaths of Americans in Benghazi. Rating: False.”

2. FALSE CLAIM: VP Nominee Mike Pence: “You know, it was Hillary Clinton who helped to undo all the gains of the troop surge, a staggering failure of judgment”

TRUTH: AP Fact Check: “And she had nothing to do with the ‘disastrous strategy’ of giving a departure date from Iraq. It was the George W. Bush administration that announced the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in 2008.”

3. FALSE CLAIM: Laura Ingraham: “Hillary Clinton, she does not believe in borders.”

TRUTH: PolitiFact, two days ago, on the claim, “Hillary Clinton is for open borders.” – False.

4. FALSE CLAIM: Kentucky State Sen. Ralph Alvarado: “I have a message for one more person – Hillary Clinton, you failed the Hispanic community and you don’t deserve our vote.”

TRUTH: Hillary Clinton has laid out a comprehensive plan to break down barriers for Latinos and she has fought for the Latino community her entire career. Donald Trump has a plan, too: create a deportation force to remove 11 million people.

5. FALSE CLAIM: Oil mogul Harold Hamm: “Hillary Clinton would eliminate fossil fuel development in America, she would kill jobs, drive up gasoline prices and increase oil imports from her enemies”

TRUTH: Hillary Clinton’s energy plan specifically calls for ensuring that fossil fuel production taking place today is safe and responsible, and for investing in clean energy technology to make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century.

6. FALSE CLAIM: Sen. Marco Rubio: “[Hillary Clinton] planted the seeds for the disaster we now know as Obamacare.”

TRUTH: 20 million more Americans have health care as a result of the Affordable Care Act and Hillary Clinton will build on its success.

7. FALSE CLAIM: Sen. Marco Rubio: “She was a key figure in implementing Barack Obama’s shameful foreign policy record of appeasing our enemies and betraying our allies and diminishing our role in world.”

TRUTH: Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “In a world that is ever more complex, turbulent and dangerous, Secretary Clinton….has made a singular contribution to strengthening this country’s relationships with allies”

8. FALSE CLAIM: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich: “ We know that Hillary Clinton lied to us knowingly about the terror attack on  our Benghazi consulate.

TRUTH: Washington Post Fact-Checker: There is “little support for [the] claim that Clinton told the American people that the attacks were because of a video. She certainly spoke about the video, but always in the context of the protests that were occurring across the Middle East.”

9. FALSE CLAIM: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich: “We know that Hillary Clinton and President Obama lie to the American people when they say they can safely screen the Syrian refugees. They cannot.”

TRUTH: CNN: “to say that there is no way to screen refugees or that Clinton believes that they should not be vetted is false.”


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