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Official White House photo by Oliver Contreras
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Biden's Numbers, Three Years Later
Since January 2022, we've written reports every three months on the state of the union under President Joe Biden. We call this feature "Biden's Numbers."
This week we published the latest installment, "Biden's Numbers, January 2024 Update" -- the first of the presidential election year.
Typically, these reports provide a mixed bag, and this one is no different.
There are some encouraging signs for Biden and his supporters. The unemployment rate is low (3.7%), and job growth is high (14 million-plus jobs). The stock market is setting records, and consumer confidence is back on the rise.
But there are also some obvious weaknesses for a president running for reelection, notably illegal immigration and inflation.
Our report shows that apprehensions of those trying to illegally cross the southern border remain near historical highs. For the 12 months ending in November, apprehensions are up 296%.
And, despite recent moderation, consumer prices are up nearly 18% overall during Biden’s time.
Whether you support the president or not, our report offers you an unvarnished snapshot of where the U.S. stands as Biden heads into an election year.
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The federal government doesn’t collect data on gun sales, so we use estimates from the National Shooting Sports Foundation for our "Biden's Numbers" report. The trade group estimates gun sales by tracking the number of background checks for firearm sales based on the FBI’s background check system. It excludes background checks unrelated to sales, such as those for concealed-carry permits.
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Rather than a series of state primaries and caucuses, presidential nominees were chosen in the mid-19th century at a national convention. Abraham Lincoln was chosen as the Republican Party nominee at the 1860 convention in Chicago, defeating three other contenders, including front-runner and former New York Gov. William Seward, who would later serve as Lincoln’s secretary of state. Read more.
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On Sunday morning, FactCheck.org Managing Editor Lori Robertson is scheduled to appear on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" to discuss misinformation in the 2024 campaign.
Tia Mitchell, a Washington correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a host of the "Washington Journal," will conduct the one-on-one interview with Lori and take calls from viewers.
So, tune in and ask Lori some questions. The show will air live from 9:15 a.m. to 10 a.m., ET.
Lori has been at FactCheck.org since 2007.
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Reader: Did Donald Trump say this:
A candidate under federal indictment "has no right to be running." Further, it would be "virtually impossible for [a president under indictment] to govern." -- D. Trump, Nov. 2016
FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: Yes, he made those remarks in two different speeches in 2016. It was one of his talking points in the final days of the 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. (For more, see "The Final Push: Trump.")
In a speech on Nov. 3, 2016, Trump said Clinton "has no right to be running" because of her "far-reaching criminal conduct."
On Nov. 5, 2016, Trump warned of an "unprecedented constitutional crisis" if Clinton were to win the 2016 presidential election. "We could very well have a sitting president under felony indictment and ultimately a criminal trial," he said. "Her current scandals and controversies will continue throughout her presidency and would make it virtually impossible for her to govern or lead our country."
In both speeches, Trump was referring to an investigation into Clinton's use of a private server to conduct government business when she was secretary of state. The FBI closed its investigation on July 5, 2016, without filing criminal charges and then reopened the investigation on Oct. 28, 2016, after government emails were found on a laptop owned by former congressman Anthony Weiner -- who at the time was the estranged husband of Huma Abedin, a longtime Clinton aide and former deputy chief of staff at the State Department. (For more, see "A Guide to Clinton's Emails.")
On Nov. 6, 2016 -- two days before the election -- then-FBI Director James Comey notified Congress in a letter that the FBI had once again closed its investigation without filing any criminal charges. "Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton," Comey said.
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Wrapping Up
Here's what else we've got for you this week:
- "FactChecking Trump’s New Hampshire Victory Speech": Following his projected win in New Hampshire’s GOP primary on Jan. 23, former President Donald Trump gave a speech that included distorted claims about the state’s primary rules, his election record in New Hampshire, his Republican opponent’s general election prospects and Democrats’ tax plans.
- "Posts Distort History in Comparing Lincoln With Efforts to Disqualify Trump": Efforts are underway in many states to disqualify former President Donald Trump from primary ballots, based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. Some viral posts compare Trump to Abraham Lincoln and falsely claim Lincoln was “removed” from state ballots in 1860. A Lincoln scholar said the claim “could not be more historically misleading.”
Y lo que publicamos en español (English versions are accessible in each story):
- "Video de Tucker Carlson difunde falsedades sobre las vacunas contra el COVID-19 y un acuerdo de la OMS": Contrariamente a las afirmaciones amplificadas por el podcastero Bret Weinstein durante una entrevista con Tucker Carlson, las vacunas contra el COVID-19 no han matado a 17 millones de personas, sino que han salvado millones de vidas en todo el mundo. Weinstein también caracterizó de forma inexacta un acuerdo sobre pandemias de la Organización Mundial de la Salud y otros cambios propuestos, afirmando que pretenden arrebatar “la soberanía personal y nacional”.
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