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** Trump's 'Fact Check' of Biden
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We've been fact-checking politicians for more than two decades. So when former President Donald Trump vowed to do real-time fact-checking of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address ... well, we couldn't resist taking a look at what Trump wrote.

Four staffers -- led by Deputy Managing Editor Robert Farley -- reviewed Trump's posts on Truth Social that promised to “correct, in rapid response, any and all inaccurate Statements” made by Biden at the State of the Union.

Trump made many posts, and we found many of his purported corrections were inaccurate.
* Under Biden, Trump claimed, “Migrant Violence is leading to the Worst Crime Wave in History!” But homicides and violent crime in general have been trending down the last two years and are nowhere near historic levels.
* Trump alleged that Biden “wants to take away everyone’s gun.” Biden has called for a ban on so-called assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines, but he proposed a voluntary buyback for those already legally owned. He has never proposed banning or confiscating all guns.
* He claimed that the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters “had no guns” on them. At least five people were charged with or sentenced for carrying a gun on Capitol grounds.

You can read more about these and other false and misleading statements in our article "FactChecking Trump’s ‘Fact Check’ of the State of the Union ([link removed]) ."

For an actual fact-checking article on Biden’s speech, see “FactChecking Biden’s State of the Union ([link removed]) .”
HOW WE KNOW
For a story on a TV ad from a super PAC opposing President Joe Biden's reelection, Deputy Managing Editor Robert Farley used C-SPAN to provide context for a short clip of Biden that was used in the ad. We use C-SPAN frequently. It is a robust website that has decades of archival video and transcripts. The site, for example, says it has more than 3,100 videos ([link removed]) of Biden, dating to 1983 when he was a senator from Delaware. It also has current material, including a webpage devoted to the 2024 presidential campaign ([link removed]) .
FEATURED FACT
In a December update, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that as of the end of 2023, about 349,000 people had been authorized and vetted for travel to the U.S. through a humanitarian parole program that the Biden administration launched in late 2022 for Venezuelans and expanded in early 2023 for Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans. Of those who were approved for travel, 327,000 were granted parole. The paroled figure increased to 357,000, as of January. Read more ([link removed]) .
WORTHY OF NOTE
We now have a verified channel on WhatsApp.

You can follow the FactCheck.org channel by clicking here ([link removed]) or opening WhatsApp, going to the "updates" tab, tapping the plus sign next to "channels" and searching for "FactCheck.org."

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REPLY ALL

Reader: I ask this question with all seriousness for the simple reason that I wasn't there to hear it. Did President Trump really call our fallen soldiers suckers and losers?

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: We weren’t there to hear Trump’s alleged remarks, either. All we can provide is information that is publicly available about what he reportedly said.

This issue first came up in 2020, when the Atlantic wrote about it, citing unnamed sources. The magazine wrote that Trump made his remark about “losers” when he declined to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in November 2018, and his remark about “suckers” during that same trip. That magazine wrote:

In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.

In October 2023, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly – who was on that trip and visited the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery -- gave a statement to CNN that seemed to confirm those remarks.

CNN published Kelly’s statement. Here is a relevant excerpt:

“What can I add that has not already been said?” Kelly said, when asked if he wanted to weigh in on his former boss in light of recent comments made by other former Trump officials. “A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France."


** Wrapping Up
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Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "The Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans ([link removed]) ": In our latest Ask FactCheck, we answer the question: Did the Biden administration secretly fly over 300,000 migrants to the U.S.?
* "Posts Distort Missouri Divorce Law Regarding Pregnancy ([link removed]) ": There’s no law in Missouri that prevents pregnant women from getting divorced. But social media posts claim Missouri women “cannot divorce their spouse if they are pregnant.” Legal experts told us a judge may wait to finalize a divorce until after a baby is born to determine custody and other arrangements.
* "MAGA Inc. Ad’s Biden Clip in Context ([link removed]) ": The ad attacking Biden shows him appearing to fumble and grasp for words, but a fuller clip may give a different impression.

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* "Un estudio confirma en gran medida los efectos secundarios ya conocidos y poco comunes de la vacuna contra el COVID-19 ([link removed]) ": Un estudio internacional de cerca de 99 millones de personas confirma los efectos secundarios graves ya conocidos de las vacunas contra el COVID-19. También identifica una posible relación entre la primera dosis de la vacuna de Moderna y un pequeño riesgo de afección neurológica. Publicaciones en redes sociales sobre el estudio omitieron información sobre los beneficios de las vacunas y lo poco comunes que son los efectos secundarios.

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