For the record, here are some new Trump lies, from this month.
On immigration,
Trump said, “The previous administration enacted an open-door policy to illegal immigrants from Central America. Welcome in. Come in, please.”
The facts: Obama carried out more than 5.2 million deportations over two terms. That figure combines both “removals,” which involve a formal court order, and “returns,” which don’t.
Obama returned more than 2 million Central Americans in his first seven years in office, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics (that does not include formal removals or 2016 data).
On trade deficits
Trump said he couldn’t find countries where the United States currently has a trade surplus. To quote Trump, “We have trade deficits with almost every country, because we had a lot of really bad negotiators making deals with other countries.”
The facts: The United States actually has a trade surplus with more than half of the countries or governments it does business with, according to data kept by the United States International Trade Commission.
In 2016, the United States recorded a trade surplus with 134 different nations or governments. It ran a deficit with 99 nations or governments.
On health care
To quote Trump, “I said from the beginning, let Obamacare implode, and then do it. I turned out to be right. Let Obamacare implode.”
The facts: Trump actually argued that Republicans should not let Obamacare collapse because “it wouldn’t be fair to the people.”
“Frankly, we could sit back and it was a thought from a political standpoint, but it wouldn’t be fair to the people,” Trump said at a Jan. 11, 2017, press conference in New York.
“We could sit back and wait and watch and criticize and we could be a Chuck Schumer and sit back and criticize it and people would come, they would come, begging to us please, we have to do something about Obamacare. We don’t want to own it, we don’t want to own it politically. They own it right now.
“So the easiest thing would be to let it implode in ’17 and believe me, we’d get pretty much whatever we wanted, but it would take a long time. We’re going to be submitting, as soon as our secretary’s approved, almost simultaneously, shortly thereafter, a plan.”
At the same press conference, Trump said he would repeal and replace Obamacare at the same time. It was also a core campaign promise.
“It’ll be repeal and replace. It will be essentially, simultaneously. It will be various segments, you understand, but will most likely be on the same day or the same week, but probably, the same day, could be the same hour,” Trump said.
“So we’re gonna do repeal and replace, very complicated stuff. And we’re gonna get a health bill passed, we’re gonna get health care taken care of in this country.”
