FactChecking the First Trump-Biden Debate

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met on the debate stage for the first time and stretched or mangled facts on several topics:

Trump exaggerated instances of election “fraud,” misleadingly citing ballots “found … in creeks” and a case where a thousand voters were mistakenly sent two ballots. Neither is evidence of “fraud.”

Trump falsely claimed that Biden supports the Medicare for All plan. He never did.

Biden got it wrong when he claimed there was “15% less violence” during his time in office than today. The violent crime rate dropped under Trump.

Trump misleadingly claimed people “weren’t allowed to watch” the polls in Philadelphia. Only satellite elections offices, where voters can return mail-in ballots, are open now.

Trump claimed he had been endorsed by the sheriff in Portland, which isn’t true, and he suggested that Biden had gotten no support from law enforcement officials, which is false.

Biden said billionaires have gotten $300 to $400 billion wealthier during the pandemic, but he is referring to a study that ignored the financial losses by wealthy stockholders early in the pandemic.

Trump boasted than he “brought back 700,000 manufacturing jobs,” which was never true. Currently 237,000 have been lost.

Trump denied that climate change plays a role in California’s wildfires. Scientists say it’s a contributing factor.