Thursday night’s presidential debate, the second and final one of the campaign season, was a sharp departure from the first debate. A mute button kept Trump from screaming over his opponent and a more tamed Trump faced off against his opponent. When he began speaking, however, a stream of untamed lies poured from his mouth. Fact-checkers were put through their paces trying to keep up with Trump.
"President Trump was better behaved tonight. But he lied more."
CNN's Daniel Dale fact-checks key moments from the final presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. #Debates2020 https://t.co/eqZVVGqxQq pic.twitter.com/EPgkueYYcU
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) October 23, 2020
On CNN, fact-checker Daniel Dane noted a similar observation, and said that the most prolific lies Trump told were around the coronavirus. Insisting that America is “turning the corner” on the virus while spikes pop up across the country and medical experts insist that the worst wave is coming with the approach of winter, Trump continued to push his narrative about his administration’s handling of the virus and the results of their actions.
‘President Trump was better behaved tonight, but he lied more. This was just a bombardment of dishonesty, much of which we’ve heard before at his campaign rallies about subjects big and small: important stuff like the coronavirus, about Biden’s policies, about his own record, about Democrats’ record, it was just on and on.’
“The spikes in Florida & Texas” are gone”…that’s how the President opened up the debate tonight. These states are facing increasing Covid cases today & will face some of the worst scenarios this winter after President Trump pressured these Governors to lie. #Debates2020
— Olivia of Troye (@OliviaTroye) October 23, 2020
Trump once again insisted that he’s been abused as president, being forced to answer questions about his campaign’s involvement with Russian operatives during the 2016 campaign. While he told viewers that he was cleared of any wrongdoing – no collusion, no obstruction – the Mueller Report and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report shows that to be a lie.
‘Mr. Trump has repeatedly sought to reinvent the history of investigations into his campaign’s connections to Russia. He did so again on Thursday, insisting that the special counsel inquiry led by Robert S. Mueller III “found absolutely no collusion and nothing wrong.” That is not true..’
In his first debate answer, President Trump speaks about his COVID-19 diagnosis: "I was in the hospital, I had it and I got better."
He claims coronavirus is "going away," even as U.S. cases this week hit their highest numbers since July #Debates2020 https://t.co/WcVdlrCez5 pic.twitter.com/WBwNIE4DnS
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 23, 2020
As always, Trump stuck to a narrative of false claims to attack his opponent, inventing numbers and situations out of thin air. While his supporters may buy it, the rest of the country is more interested in what candidates intend to do rather than what their opponent thinks happened in their pasts.
‘Mr. Trump relied more on questionable and specious arguments about Mr. Biden’s family, Democratic policy positions and his own record, leading Mr. Biden to repeatedly express exasperation by saying, “C’mon, man!”’
“We have a vaccine that’s coming, that’s ready, that’s going to be announced within weeks," President Trump said during #Debates2020.
Fact check: No, Americans won’t be getting vaccinated within weeks https://t.co/sFzoCeuYrq
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) October 23, 2020
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
