PHILADELPHIA -- In their first and perhaps only debate, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris described the state of the country in starkly different terms. As the two traded jabs, some old false and misleading claims emerged along with some new ones.
Here鈥檚 a look at false and misleading claims made by the candidates.
Trump falsely touts his economy
TRUMP: "I created one of the greatest economies in the history of our country. ... They鈥檝e destroyed the economy.鈥�
THE FACTS: This is an exaggeration. The economy grew much faster under Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan than it did under Trump. The broadest measure of economic growth, gross domestic product, rose 4 per cent a year for four straight years under Clinton. The fastest growth under Trump was three per cent in 2018. The economy shrank 2.2 per cent in 2020, at the end of Trump鈥檚 presidency. And a higher proportion of American adults had jobs under Clinton than under Trump. During the Biden-Harris administration, the economy expanded 5.8 per cent in 2021, though much of that reflected a bounce-back from COVID.
Inflation has trekked down
TRUMP: 鈥淭hey had the highest inflation perhaps in the history of our country, because I鈥檝e never seen a worse period of time."
THE FACTS: While praising the strength of the economy under his presidency, Donald Trump misstated the inflation rate under Biden. Inflation peaked at 9.1 per cent in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden鈥檚 presidency from a low of 0.1 per cent in May 2020. It鈥檚 now seeing a downward trend. The most recent data shows that as of July it had fallen to 2.9 per cent. Other historical periods have seen higher inflation, which hit more than 14 percent in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve.
Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025
HARRIS: 鈥淲hat you鈥檙e going to hear tonight is a detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025 that the former president intends on implementing if he were elected again.鈥�
THE FACTS: Trump has said he doesn鈥檛 know about Project 2025, a controversial blueprint for another Republican presidential administration.
The plan was written up by many of his former aides and allies, but Trump has never said he鈥檒l implement the roughly 900-page guide if he鈥檚 elected again. On the contrary, he has said it鈥檚 not related to his campaign.
Trump's taxing and spending plan examined
HARRIS: 鈥淲hat the Wharton School has said is Donald Trump鈥檚 plan would actually explode the deficit.鈥�
THE TRUTH: The Penn-Wharton Budget Model did find that Trump鈥檚 tax and spending plans would significantly expand the deficit by $5.8 trillion over ten years. But it also found that Harris鈥� plans would increase the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the same period.
Harris鈥� record on fracking examined
TRUMP: 鈥淚f she won the election, fracking in Pennsylvania will end on Day 1.鈥�
THE FACTS: Trump鈥檚 statement ignores the fact that without a law approved by Congress, a president can only ban fracking on federal lands.
The federal government owns about two per cent of Pennsylvania鈥檚 total land, and it is not clear how much of that is suitable for oil or gas drilling.
Republicans have criticized Harris for 鈥渇lip-flopping鈥� on the issue, noting that Harris said in the 2020 campaign that she opposed fracking, a drilling technique that is widely used in Pennsylvania and other states.
Harris has since said repeatedly that she won鈥檛 ban fracking if elected, and she reiterated that in Tuesday鈥檚 debate.
Trump misrepresents crime statistics
TRUMP, criticizing the Biden administration: 鈥淐rime is through the roof.鈥�
THE FACTS: In fact, FBI data has shown a downward trend in violent crime since a coronavirus pandemic spike. Violent crime surged during the pandemic, with homicides increasing nearly 30 per cent in 2020 over the previous year 鈥� the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records
Violent crime was down six per cent in the last three months of 2023 compared with the same period the year before, according to FBI data released in March. Murders were down 13 per cent. New FBI statistics released in June show the overall violent crime rate declined 15 per cent in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period last year. One expert has cautioned, however, that those 2024 figures are preliminary and may overstate the actual reduction in crime.
Trump endorses false rumor about immigrants eating pets
TRUMP: 鈥淚n Springfield, they鈥檙e eating the dogs, the people that came in, they鈥檙e eating the cats鈥� They鈥檙e eating the pets of the people that live there.鈥�
THE FACTS: There鈥檚 no evidence to support the claim, which Trump and his campaign have used to argue immigrants are committing crimes at a higher rate than others.
Authorities in Ohio have said there are no credible or detailed reports to support Trump鈥檚 claim.
Jobs created under the Biden administration
鈥�TRUMP: 鈥淛ust like their number of 818,000 jobs that they said they created turned out to be a fraud.鈥�
THE FACTS: This is a mischaracterization of the government鈥檚 process of counting jobs. Every year the Labor Department issues a revision of the number of jobs added in a 12-month period from April through March in the previous year. The adjustment is made because the government鈥檚 initial job counts are based on surveys of businesses. The revision is then based on actual job counts from unemployment insurance files that are compiled later. The revision is compiled by career government employees with little involvement by politically appointed officials.
Trump repeats false claims immigrants that noncitizens are being sought to vote
TRUMP: 鈥淎 lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they鈥檙e trying to get them to vote. They can鈥檛 even speak English. They don鈥檛 even know what country they鈥檙e in practically and these people are trying to get them to vote, and that鈥檚 why they鈥檙e allowing them to come into our country.鈥�
THE FACTS: In recent months, Trump and other Republicans have been repeating the baseless claim that Democrats want migrants to come into the country illegally so they will vote.
There鈥檚 no evidence for this, nor is there any evidence that noncitizens illegally vote in significant numbers in this country.
Voting by people who are not U.S. citizens already is illegal in federal elections. It can be punishable by fines, prison time and even deportation. While noncitizens have cast ballots, studies show it鈥檚 incredibly rare, and states regularly audit their voter lists to remove ineligible voters from the rolls.
Trump鈥檚 comments suggest that not speaking English is somehow prohibitive for voting in the U.S. 鈥� and that鈥檚 also not the case. In fact, the Voting Rights Act requires certain states to provide election materials in other languages depending on the voting-age population鈥檚 needs.
Associated Press writers Melissa Goldin, David Klepper, Ali Swenson, Matthew Daly and Chris Rugaber contributed to this story
