Donald Trump recently addressed the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, accepting the nomination as the party’s presidential candidate. His speech, which lasted one and a half hours, was filled with numerous claims about his record as president versus Joe Biden’s. BBC Verify has fact-checked some of these statements to separate fact from fiction.
Are Crime Rates Rising?
CLAIM: “Our crime rate is going up, while crime statistics all over the world are going down.”
VERDICT: Violent crime in the US fell last year.
Mr. Trump did not specify what kind of crime he was referring to. According to preliminary FBI data, violent crime was down 6% in 2023, and there was a significant drop of 13% in the murder rate. Although these statistics aren’t a complete picture, as some local police departments have not yet submitted their figures, the official FBI figures for last year will be released in October. The latest preliminary FBI crime data indicates this downward trend in violent crime in the US has continued into 2024, with reported incidents falling 15% in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year. Recorded murders dropped by more than 26% in the same period.
Is Inflation ‘the Worst We’ve Ever Had’?
CLAIM: “We’ve had the worst inflation we’ve ever had under this person [Biden].”
VERDICT: Under President Biden, inflation reached around 9% before falling to around 3%. That’s nowhere near the worst in history – the record was 23.7% in 1920.
Inflation rose significantly during the first two years of the Biden administration, hitting a peak of 9.1% in the year to June 2022. This was comparable with many other Western countries, which experienced high inflation rates in 2021 and 2022 due to global supply chain issues as a consequence of Covid and the war in Ukraine. However, some economists argue that Mr. Biden’s $1.9tn (£1.5tn) spending plan in 2021 was a contributing factor. Since then, US inflation has steadily fallen, with the latest monthly figure at 3% as of June.
Mr. Trump also claimed, “we had no inflation” under his administration. When Mr. Biden came to office in January 2021, inflation was low at 1.4%, but prices were still rising.
Did Trump Leave “a World at Peace”?
CLAIM: “Our opponents inherited a world at peace.”
VERDICT: There were dozens of conflicts globally in the last year Mr. Trump was president, according to experts.
Mr. Trump followed this claim by saying the world was now a “planet at war,” highlighting the current conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. While these conflicts didn’t occur during his tenure, claiming he left “a world at peace” is incorrect. In 2020, the last full year Mr. Trump was President, there were 56 active conflicts globally, according to the Peace Research Institute in Oslo. Eight of these were classified as wars, including those in Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
Did Trump Make the Biggest Tax Cuts Ever?
CLAIM: “The biggest tax cuts ever.”
VERDICT: As President, Donald Trump did bring in significant tax cuts, but they weren’t the largest in history.
Mr. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 introduced sweeping cuts to taxation across the board, which are due to expire in 2025 unless the next administration extends them. According to analysis by the independent Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Trump’s tax cuts were the eighth-largest since 1918 as a percentage of the size of the economy (GDP) and the fourth-largest in dollar terms since 1940, adjusted for inflation. Although Mr. Trump didn’t introduce the largest tax cut overall, he did pass the largest corporate tax cut in US history, reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. This was a more significant cut than the one passed under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, which lowered the rate from 46% to 34%.
The US Election Shell Game
As we fact-check and analyze these claims, it becomes apparent that the political landscape often resembles a shell game. The Global News, especially in the US, is all about the upcoming Election – it’s all about Biden, Trump, the RNC, and various claims spun every which way but the reality. In this election shell game, the American people, the voters, are the mark. The campaigns and the political system are the dealer. The media, the so-called experts, and everyone else are the unintended shill. The stakes are the taxpayers’ money, the treasury. To date, this shell game has cost each and every American over $103,000. This is a fact and the only fact that matters.
The only winners in this shell game are the dealer and perhaps some of the shill. The mark doesn’t stand a chance of winning. The best the mark can expect is to NOT lose. And the only way to do that is not to get involved in the game in the first place. Unfortunately, in the US Election shell game, that is not an option. In this election, the best we can do is to lose the least. This unfortunately depends on the times. Sometimes you lose more with the Republicans, and other times with the Democrats.
The LifeBahn Perspective
AutoBahn is a road for cars in German, and LifeBahn is the path to prosperity for people. Through the LifeBahn lens, we see only human beings. We are blind to socialism, capitalism, sexism, racism, or any other -ism, except humanism.
while competition is a good way to succeed for a FEW, collaboration is a BETTER way to succeed for MANY.
The US election and its shell game are clear examples of why we need collaboration over competition. In the midst of all the political maneuvering, it’s the American people who lose. But through collaboration, we can change the game. LifeBahn is committed to teaching the lessons of collaboration, where everyone prospers together.
Let’s join LifeBahn and see if we can collaborate and come up with a sustainable solution for our future.
