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** 'Biden's Numbers' as He Runs for Reelection
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Every three months, we post "Biden's Numbers" -- a quarterly review of how the United States is faring since President Joe Biden took office.

This time, our report came two days after the president made it official: He's running for reelection ([link removed]) .

Incumbents are judged on their records, and this article provides the latest authoritative data on such topics as employment, inflation, health insurance and immigration.

The number of people with jobs has increased dramatically since Biden took office, far surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Manufacturing jobs, in particular, are rising briskly.

Inflation, too, has increased significantly under Biden, although it has slowed dramatically in recent months. As of March, the Consumer Price Index had increased 14.9% during Biden's first 26 months in office.

As of the third quarter of 2022, the number of uninsured Americans has declined by about 4.2 million, as estimated by the National Health Interview Survey.

The apprehensions of people trying to enter the country illegally through the southwest border are up 342% for the past 12 months, compared with President Donald Trump’s last year in office. That's despite a significant reduction in apprehensions in January and February.

For more about these and other topics, read the full story, "Biden's Numbers, April Update ([link removed]) ."
HOW WE KNOW
When we write about consumer confidence, we refer to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers ([link removed]) -- specifically the Index of Consumer Sentiment. The Surveys of Consumers was founded in 1946 ([link removed]) and is widely used by journalists ([link removed]) and economists ([link removed]) . They are conducted by the Survey Research Center ([link removed]) within the Institute for Social Research ([link removed]) . The center says ([link removed]) each month it surveys about 600 people and asks "approximately 50 core questions."
FEATURED FACT
The United States added 22.9 million jobs in President Bill Clinton’s two terms, an increase of 20.9% over eight years. In Clinton’s first term, from January 1993 through January 1997, the U.S. added 11.6 million jobs, an increase of 10.5%, and then the next four years brought an additional 11.3 million jobs, an increase of 9.3%. Overall, the number of jobs rose from 109.8 million jobs in January 1993 to 132.7 million in January 2001. Read more ([link removed]) .
WORTHY OF NOTE
We would like to thank all of our loyal readers for helping us win the 2023 Webby People’s Voice Award in the Websites and Mobile Sites: News & Politics ([link removed]) category.

FactCheck.org received more votes from the public than the four other nominees in our category: CNN, ABC News, NBCUniversal and Upstatement for the website Gothamist.

This is our 11th People’s Voice win since 2007, but our first since 2017. We also have won 10 Webby Awards, which are chosen by a panel of judges. That prize in our category this year went to CNN for its special report on Russia’s attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine.

We appreciate the support of everyone who helped us achieve this honor. For more, read "We're a Webby People's Voice Winner ([link removed]) ."
REPLY ALL

Reader: Did former President Trump ever say the US Constitution should be suspended or terminated? If so, when and where did it occur?

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: On his Truth Social platform, Trump said ([link removed]) this on Dec. 3: “So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great 'Founders' did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”

There is no evidence of “massive fraud,” as we have written many times ([link removed]) .

Two days later, Trump denied what he wrote. Again on Truth Social, he wrote ([link removed]) : “The Fake News is actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to ‘terminate’ the Constitution. This is simply more DISINFORMATION & LIES. … What I said was that when there is 'MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION,' as has been irrefutably proven in the 2020 Presidential Election, steps must be immediately taken to RIGHT THE WRONG. Only FOOLS would disagree with that and accept STOLEN ELECTIONS. MAGA!”

The Wall Street Journal editorial board summed up ([link removed]) his two statements this way: “In reality, there’s little distinction: The Constitution contains no provision for mulligan presidential elections, so what Mr. Trump is talking about is impossible under the parchment written by the Founders. But if he doesn’t grasp why he’s being called the constitutional Terminator, he should reread what he wrote two days earlier.”


** Wrapping Up
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Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "FactChecking Biden’s Reelection Remarks ([link removed]) ": President Joe Biden announced on April 25 that he would run for reelection in the 2024 campaign. In his video announcement and a speech later that day to a union group, Biden repeated several claims we’ve fact-checked before.
* "Masking Has Minimal Effects on Respiratory System, Does Not Cause Long COVID ([link removed]) ": Long COVID is a collection of health problems caused by COVID-19 that remain or appear following the initial infection. It is implausible that face masks cause long COVID, contrary to claims made online. Mask use can temporarily cause discomfort, but physiological effects are not biologically meaningful.
* "Warming Beyond 1.5 C Harmful, But Not a Point of No Return, as Biden Claims ([link removed]) ": It's increasingly likely that the planet will reach 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, of warming, probably within the next two decades. But while that level of warming comes with a variety of dangerous effects, it's not a point of no return, scientists say, and it doesn't mean "we're done," as President Joe Biden has claimed.
* "Posts Mislead on Rules for Guns at NRA Convention, Utah GOP Event ([link removed]) ": The three-day National Rifle Association convention in Indianapolis allowed attendees to carry firearms, except for a two-hour period when former President Donald Trump and other leaders spoke in a hall secured by the Secret Service. Yet, social media posts from a Democratic advocacy group misleadingly claimed that “guns were BANNED at the NRA convention.”

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* "No hay pruebas de que las vacunas estén relacionadas con un exceso de muertes, contrariamente a lo que se afirma en internet ([link removed]) ":
Las vacunas contra el COVID-19 reducen sustancialmente el riesgo de morir por COVID-19, y los efectos secundarios graves son muy poco frecuentes. El exceso de muertes entre adultos en edad laboral en 2021 y 2022 se debió al COVID-19 y a otros factores, no a las vacunas. Afirmaciones de que las vacunas causan discapacidades y daños económicos a gran escala se basan en un razonamiento equivocado.

Do you like FactCheck.Weekly? Share it with a friend! They can subscribe here ([link removed]) .
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