Trump Campaign Press Release - Correct The Record: Fact Checking Biden's Day In Iowa, Wisconsin, And Minnesota

IN IOWA

BIDEN: "82,000 jobs Iowa lost in this pandemic and still they have not come back."

FACT: Iowa has added back a record 104,000 jobs back in the last five months and did so at a faster pace than under the "recovery" Joe Biden led.

• Since April, Iowa added back 104,000 jobs – the strongest five month stretch of Iowa job growth on record.
• This means more than half of the Iowa jobs lost due to the pandemic – 56% - have been added back already.
• Meanwhile it took 25 months – two years – to add back the same percentage of jobs during the Biden-led "recovery" after the Great Recession.
• Iowa lost 64,200 jobs during the Great Recession, and did not add back 56% of them until February of 2012.

BIDEN: "The [Social Security Administration's] actuary says if the change occurs as he [Trump] is promoting, it will bankrupt Social Security by 2023. Go home and tell your parents, your grandparents that. That's a fact!"

FACT: This attack from Biden is false and has previously been debunked by fact checkers. The President's payroll tax deferral will not harm Social Security.

• The Washington Post's Fact Checker gave Biden's attack "Four Pinocchios," saying Biden and other "Democrats ginned up a letter from [Social Security's] chief actuary to describe a plan that does not currently exist."
• FactCheck.org and USA Todayhave debunked this and similar claims from Biden's campaign and his allies.
• President Trump wants to make the payroll tax deferral permanent next year, making this deferral a cut "without in any way, shape, or form hurting Social Security."
• The President has said he would use the Treasury Department's general fund to reimburse Social Security's trust fund, ensuring zero impact on our nation's seniors.
• Biden's attack is not only false, it is hypocritical.
• In 2011, Biden wrote an op-ed touting a bill Obama signed to cut the payroll tax, specifically saying it was "misinformation" to suggest a payroll tax cut hurt Social Security's solvency.
• President Trump has promised to always protect Social Security, unlike Biden who bragged in the 1990s about his efforts to "freeze" benefits.

BIDEN: "Folks, but there is nothing worse, in my view, then the way he [Trump] has spoken about those who served in uniform. He called them 'losers and suckers.'"

FACT:This attack is false; at least 14 officials who were on the trip to France with President Trump have gone on the record to refute the anonymous sources and allegations in The Atlantic article:

• Sarah Sanders, former White House Press Secretary: "The Atlantic story on @realDonaldTrump is total BS. I was actually there and one of the people part of the discussion - this never happened."

• Hogan Gidley, former White House Deputy Press Secretary: "These are disgusting, grotesque, reprehensible lies. I was there in Paris and the President never said those things."

• Dan Scavino, White House Deputy Chief Of Staff for Communications: "I was with POTUS in France, with Sarah, and have been at his side throughout it all. Complete lies by 'anonymous sources'…"

• Jordan Karem, former Personal Aide to President Trump: "This is not even close to being factually accurate. plain and simple, it just never happened."
• ??Karem: "Again, this is 100% false. I was next to @POTUS the whole day! The President was greatly disappointed when told we couldn't fly there. He was incredibly eager to honor our Fallen Heroes."

• Johnny DeStefano, former Counselor to the President: "I was on this trip. The Atlantic bit is not true. Period."

• John Bolton, former National Security Advisor: "'I didn't hear that,' Mr. Bolton said in an interview. 'I'm not saying he didn't say them later in the day or another time but I was there for that discussion.'"

• Stephen Miller, White House Senior Adviser: The accusation is a "despicable lie … The president deeply wanted to attend the memorial event in question and was deeply displeased by the bad weather call."

• Tony Ornato, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and then-Head of the Secret Service's Presidential Protective Detail has said the story is false.

• Derek Lyons, Staff Secretary and Counselor to the President: "I was with the President the morning after the scheduled visit. He was extremely disappointed that arrangements could not be made to get him to the site, and that the trip had been cancelled."

• Dan Walsh, former White House Deputy Chief Of Staff: "I can attest to the fact that there was a bad weather call in France, and that the helicopters were unable to safely make the flight."

• Zach Fuentes, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff: "I did not hear POTUS call anyone losers when I told him about the weather."

• First Lady Melania Trump: "@TheAtlantic story is not true. It has become a very dangerous time when anonymous sources are believed above all else, & no one knows their motivation. This is not journalism - It is activism. And it is a disservice to the people of our great nation."

• Jamie McCourt, U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco: "In my presence, POTUS has NEVER denigrated any member of the U.S. military or anyone in service to our country. And he certainly did not that day, either. Let me add, he was devastated to not be able to go to the cemetery at Belleau Wood. In fact, the next day, he attended and spoke at the ceremony in Suresnes in the pouring rain."

• Major General William Matz (ret.), Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission: "I was the host of the event discussed by the false and despicable article published in The Atlantic magazine on 3 September. On 10 November 2018, I was at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery awaiting the arrival of President Trump. As a former Army infantryman who has flown on many helicopters, I knew that morning the weather was bad and the ceiling was too low for a safe landing that day. When the President's visit was appropriately canceled due to weather, I received word also that he was upset he would not be able to make the wreath-laying visit and to pay his respect to the 2300 fallen soldiers and Marines interred there. … Those who know President Trump know that the anonymous smears peddled by The Atlantic have no basis in fact or reality, and do a terrible disservice to journalism and to our veterans, living and deceased."

• Additionally, The Atlantic's reporting has been refuted by a White House email and Navy documents that directly show a "bad weather call" was the reason for the canceled presidential trip to Aisne-Marne cemetery in 2018.

BIDEN: "Why should you pay more in taxes than Donald Trump, who paid $750?"

FACT: This is false; President Trump has personally paid millions of dollars in taxes in 2016 and 2017.

• A Trump Organization spokesman has directly said that "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate" in The New York Times' reporting on the President's taxes.

• The Times'reporting is incorrect; the President paid $7.4 million in federal taxes in 2017, not $750.

• The Times' article ignores millions of dollars the President has paid in payroll, property, and other taxes, along with state and local taxes he has paid.

BIDEN: "I guarantee, I give you my word as a Biden, no one making less than $400,000 a year will see a penny raised in taxes."

FACT: Biden's $4 trillion tax hike will raise taxes on 82 percent of Americans, including those making under $400,000.

• Biden's $4 trillion tax hike is the largest proposed tax hike in a half century.
• Five independent analyses have concluded that Biden would reduce after-tax incomes for those making under $400,000.
• The Tax Policy Center concluded Biden's "proposals would increase taxes on average on all income groups."
• The Tax Foundation concluded Biden's plan would lead to higher taxes "across all income groups."
• The American Enterprise Institute concluded that "households at every income level" would see higher taxes.
• A Penn Wharton budget model analysis concluded that taxes would go up across all income levels.
• The Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget concluded that taxes would go up across all income levels.

BIDEN: "Trumpgot a Supreme Court Justice, for overwhelming reason. By the way, never before has there been a hearing on a Supreme Court Justice once an election began. It's never occurred."

FACT: History is on the side of filling the Supreme Court vacancy now, and Joe Biden previously said the President had an obligation to name a nominee, even in an election year.

• There have been 29 prior Supreme Court vacancies in American history during a Presidential election year, and in all cases, the President nominated a Justice.
• 17 out of 19 times the Senate has confirmed the President's Supreme Court nominee in an election year when the President's party controls the Senate as it does today.
• In 2016, Biden said that he supported confirming a Supreme Court Justice in an election year "even a few months before a presidential election."
• Biden in 2016: "In my view, [Senators] are required to give the nominee a hearing and a vote."

BIDEN: "I'll do what [Trump's] been unable to do. I'll mobilize a true international effort to stop China's abuses. So, we could strengthen manufacturing and farming across the country. I'm going to hold China accountable, which he hasn't from the pandemic on."

FACT: Biden has a history of being soft on China.

• Biden has spent his entire career in Washington being weak on China, bowing to their demands and enabling China's rise.
• In 2000, Biden voted to give China most favored nation trade status, a decision that ultimately killed 3.2 million U.S. jobs, including 29,900 in Iowa.
• Biden has said "China is not our enemy," a rising China is an "incredibly positive development" for the U.S. and the world, and "it is in our self-interest that China continue to prosper."
• President Trump restricted travel from China on January 31, an early decision that saved American lives.
• The same day, Biden accused President Trump of "hysterical xenophobia."
• Biden refused to endorse the China travel ban until April 3, more than two months after it was announced.

BIDEN: "[Trump] waved the white flag and surrendered to this virus."

FACT:President Trump took action to combat the coronavirus beginning in January, and his Administration has led an unprecedented response to protect American lives.

• According to Dr. Fauci, the Trump Administration "acted very, very early" to combat the spread of the virus and did not delay putting in place mitigation strategies.
• President Trump restricted travel from China on January 31, a decision that saved American lives.
• On February 11, top Biden coronavirus advisor Ron Klain admitted the Trump Administration was "far from doing nothing."
• Even Democratic Governors such as Andrew Cuomo (NY) praised the Trump Administration's response: "What the federal government did, working with states, was a phenomenal accomplishment."
• President Trump completely overhauled the old and outdated testing system and replaced it with an innovative new testing strategy to meet the country's needs.
• President Trump used the Defense Production Act dozens of times to expand coronavirus testing technologies and capacity.
• President Trump launched Operation Warp Speed to guarantee that the American people are first in line for a safe, effective coronavirus vaccine—at no cost—as soon as one is developed.

BIDEN: "On his watch, ethanol margins have tanked and Iowa's manufacturing facilities are idle and even closing."

FACT: While the Obama-Biden administration hurt the ethanol industry, President Trump has upheld his commitment to Iowa's ethanol producers.

• Biden orchestrated a cut in the Renewable Fuel Standard when he was Vice President, harming Iowa's ethanol producers.
• President Trump made E15 ethanol available year-round, boosting Iowa's economy and advancing energy independence.

BIDEN: "… you can keep your private insurance if you like it or choose Medicare-like public option."

FACT:Biden's public option will end up destroying the private health insurance that 180 million Americans rely on, crowding out these plans with a subsidized government-run plan.

• Biden's "public option" will jeopardize the private insurance plans held by millions of Americans, a fact that President Obama himself acknowledged in 2009.
• Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber conducted a study confirming that a public option would crowd out private health insurance plans, and later said "if the Democrats are right...it'll wipe out the private choice."
• The Obama-Biden Administration earned "Lie of the Year" when they made the same promise – that Americans could keep their private insurance if they wanted – when they passed Obamacare.
• Biden is campaigning on a healthcare agenda that would cancel health plans, raise taxes, skyrocket premiums, jeopardize rural hospitals, and bring America closer to a disastrous government-run healthcare system.
• Biden's running mate Kamala Harris has even openly said she supports eliminating private health insurance.

IN MINNESOTA

BIDEN: "Donald Trump fails to condemn white supremacy"

FACT: This is an egregious lie and demonstrably false; President Trump has repeatedly and clearly condemned white supremacy dozens of times.

• President Trump has repeatedly and specifically denounced white supremacists and racist hate groups.
• March 2016: Asked if he would denounce white supremacists, then-Candidate Trump said "of course."
• August 2017: "Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans."
• August 2017: "The neo-Nazis and the white nationalists … they should be condemned totally."
• August 2019: "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America."

IN WISCONSIN

BIDEN: "…the Trump tax loopholes that incentivized companies that shipped jobs overseas…"

FACT: Fact checkers have previously debunked Biden's claim, saying President Trump's tax cuts are "believed to have broadly reduced incentives to invest overseas."

• One recent study found the Trump tax cuts were "largely effective" at making it less attractive for U.S. companies to invest offshore.

• Since the tax cuts took effect, U.S. companies have brought back more than $1 trillion back they were holding overseas.

• President Trump's second term agenda includes prohibiting businesses from replacing U.S. workers with low-wage foreign workers, creating "Made in America" tax credits, and cutting taxes to keep jobs in the U.S.

BIDEN: "Right now, by the way, the deficit with China is higher than it was in our administration."

FACT: This is false; the trade deficit with China in 2019 was down from 2016, the last year of the Obama-Biden Administration.

• Fact-checkers have previously debunked similar claims from Biden, saying they are "false" and "wrong"

BIDEN: "When I talk about my economic plan, it's not some liberal think tank who talks about how good it is. Moody's, a Wall Street, major firm pointed out, after looking at my plan for an economy and his, that we will create 18.6 million jobs under the Biden plan."

FACT: The outfit Biden cited – Moody's – has a history of drastically underestimating the positive effects of President Trump's economic policies.

• In 2016, Moody's estimated then-candidate Trump's economic plans would lead to higher unemployment rates under every scenario; in fact, the unemployment rate fell to a half-century low under President Trump before the pandemic hit.

• Moody's drastically underestimated job growth and the increase in the stock market that has happened under President Trump.