Trump Town Hall Special – Other Topics

Editorial Team

Politics

17th September 2020

On this occasion, President Trump sat down with a room full of uncommitted voters (Getty Images)

The Claim

“We're going to be doing a health care plan, very strongly, and protect people with preexisting conditions… We have other alternatives to Obamacare that are 50% less expensive and that are actually better.”
“We have run [Obamacare] so much better than Obama ran it.”
“At the end of my first term, we're going to have close to 300, maybe over 300 new federal judges, including Court of Appeal, two Supreme Court justices.”
Stock Market is proof that Americans are “doing better than they were doing before the pandemic came.”
“We want people to come into our country ... but we want them to come in through a legal system.”

News posted on

Emerging story

This past Tuesday, September 17th, marked precisely seven weeks until US 2020 Election Day and precisely two weeks until the first presidential debate. On this occasion, President Trump sat down with a room full of uncommitted voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania in a 90-minute town hall special anchored by George Stephanopoulos and hosted by ABC News.

The forum gave uncommitted voters the opportunity to ask the president their questions on any and all election issues, and Misbar is taking the opportunity to fact-check the President’s answers in pursuit of viewing equity.

On a side note, ABC News also offered to host a town hall with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, but according to ABC, they and Biden “were not able to find a mutually agreeable date.”

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar’s investigation into this claim reveals it to be false.

Technically Trump’s statement that he will “protect” those with preexisting conditions is vague: he is not saying he will provide them coverage. Nevertheless, all of Trump’s proposed alternatives to Obamacare do not provide coverage for preexisting conditions.
Trump’s statement that he ran Obamacare better than Obama is subjective. Apparently in Trump’s eyes, running it better involves cutting it. That may not be how some voters see things.
Trump’s claim that he will have appointed almost 300 judges is also vague. In reality the number is currently 210.
Trump’s claim that the stock market being high is proof that Americans are doing better than before the pandemic is false. Even though over half of Americans have money in the stock market, the rest do not. Even though public companies having money to invest in their businesses should theoretically impact the entire economy, including all Americans, it does so disproportionately.
Trump’s claim that he wants people to come into the country, only legally, is vague. He does not specify how many people he wishes to come into the country. In reality, legal and illegal immigration are down under him.