Last night, in a disastrous performance, Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin, doubled down on a disgusting statement about the reason for sexual assault in the military (“What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?”) and said America’s generals have been “reduced to rubble.” Not only were many of Trump’s comments deeply offensive—they were also often factually inaccurate. Most egregiously, Trump once again claimed that he was opposed to the Iraq War from the beginning. The truth? In 2002, Howard Stern asked Trump if he supported the Iraq War. ““Yeah, I guess so,” Trump responded. “I wish the first time it was done correctly.”
The falsehoods didn’t end there. In a sign of just how unfit he is to be our next Commander in Chief, Trump’s comments were filled with false claims and debunked lies about both his own record and his opponent’s (emphasis added below).
Politifact: Trump repeats wrong claim that he opposed Iraq War
“Trump didn’t speak often about the Iraq War before it happened, but what he said did not add up to the sort of opposition he describes today.”
Buzzfeed: Donald Trump Lies That He Opposed Iraq War From Beginning And Goes Unchallenged
“Trump told Matt Lauer Wednesday night he was against the Iraq War from the beginning and publicly warned it would destabilize the Middle East. This is untrue.”
Huffington Post: Donald Trump Wrongly Corrected A Veteran About The Suicide Rate
“GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump tried to show how much he knows about the issue of veteran suicides Wednesday night by correcting a veteran who’d asked him a question. But Trump’s attempt to demonstrate his knowledge failed ― the veteran had the right statistic, not Trump.”
Washington Post: Trump repeated false claim he ‘was totally against the war in Iraq.’ Matt Lauer didn’t press him on it.
“Trump regularly makes the claim that he opposed the Iraq War in an effort to draw a contrast with Clinton on foreign policy. The claim has been repeatedly debunked by independent fact checkers, though Lauer did not press him on the issue.”
NBC News: Fact-Checking Trump on His Support for the Iraq War
“The only report that found Trump speaking about the Iraq war before it happened was by Buzzfeed News, which reported that in a 2002 interview with Howard Stern, Trump was directly asked if he would support the invasion of Iraq, which didn’t begin until Jan. 28, 2003. ‘Yeah, I guess so,’ Trump responded. ‘I wish the first time it was done correctly.’”
Vox: Matt Lauer totally blew it on Trump’s blatant lying about Iraq and Libya
“The reason Clinton said that Trump was not against the war in Iraq is because he was not against the war in Iraq. The United States invaded Iraq in 2003, and the congressional debate over authorizing the use of military force in Iraq was in 2002. And during that period, Trump supported the invasion of Iraq.”
Politifact: Donald Trump says his financial disclosures more than make up for lack of releasing tax returns
“Unlike all presidential nominees since 1980, Trump has not released his tax returns, which experts say would offer valuable details on his effective tax rate, the types of taxes he paid, and how much he gave to charity, as well as a more detailed picture of his income-producing assets. Trump’s statement is inaccurate. We rate it False.”
Politifact: Did Hillary Clinton say she was “satisfied” with Veterans Administration?
“Trump said Clinton said the Veterans Affairs scandal is ‘over-exaggerated,’ and, ‘She said she was satisfied with what was going on.’…We rate Trump’s statement Mostly False.”
Think Progress: Matt Lauer Ignores Trump’s Lies
“[But] throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has repeatedly said he opposed the war from the start. He’s repeated the lie so many times that some have seemingly lost sight of the fact it’s not true.”
ABC News: Trump Again Insists He Was Against Iraq Invasion, Despite Past Comments
“The GOP candidate has been adamant about his early opposition to the invasion, despite some evidence to the contrary.”
Vox: Matt Lauer totally blew it on Trump’s blatant lying about Iraq and Libya
“Later, near the very end of the interview, Trump said that Clinton ‘made a terrible mistake on Libya.’ In fact, Trump himself supported the military action in Libya that he now characterizes as a mistake. He made a video about it and posted it on his website. You can watch it right here.
Politifact: Fact-checking the NBC ‘commander-in-chief’ forum
“Clinton: ‘With respect to Libya, again, there’s no difference between my opponent and myself. He’s on record extensively supporting intervention in Libya.’ The record shows that Trump did endorse the attacks that unseated Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.”