More TRUMP Lies Debate Number One

On Mr. Trump’s claim that the United States is “not updating” its nuclear arsenal and the Iran nuclear deal.

Mr. Trump is wrong. The United States has a major nuclear modernization program underway, at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. On the Iran nuclear deal, he complained that the United States paid $1.7 billion in cash to Iran. It did. But it was Iran’s money, for military goods never delivered to Iran after the Iranian Revolution. (The principal was $400 million; the remaining $1.3 billion was interest owed in the ensuing three decades.)

TRUMP LIED!

On Mr. Trump saying that the United States should have taken Iraq’s oil.

It is an assertion that he made a few weeks ago, and one that was roundly criticized at the time. Seizing Iraq’s oil — or the resources of any country — is illegal under international law, and doing so would have likely prompted condemnation from around the world. In purely practical terms, seizing Iraq’s oil would have required tens of thousands of American troops to protect Iraq’s oil infrastructure, which is spread out across the country and largely above ground. It also is probably safe to assume that Iraqis themselves would have objected to their country’s main source of wealth being used to enrich another country.

Like most CONS Trumps is talking out of his ass and TRUMP IS LYING!

On Mr. Trump saying the Islamic State would never have come into power if the United States had stayed in Iraq.

The assertion is impossible to disprove, but it’s unlikely that 10,000 troops remaining in Iraq would have made much of a difference — especially in Syria and Libya, where the United States never had troops.

Like most CONS... TRUMP IS FULL OF SHIT

On Mr. Trump saying Mrs. Clinton had been “fighting ISIS your entire adult life.”

In reality, (CONS HATE REALITY) the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, began as an Al Qaeda affiliate that sprang up in Iraq as the Sunni insurgency amid the power vacuum created by the American invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s government in 2003. It was largely defeated and pushed into Syria during the Obama administration’s first term, when Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state. It eventually split from the original Al Qaeda and rebranded itself as ISIS, sweeping back into Iraq in 2014, when she was out of office.

TRUMP LIED 

On Mrs. Clinton blaming Russia for conducting cyberattacks, saying Russia and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia were playing a “long game.”

She’s right, even though United States has not yet publicly named Russia as the attacker against the Democratic National Committee, much less the State Department, the White House and the Joint Chiefs.

“The United States has much greater capacity,” she said, seeming to threaten that the United States could respond in kind. She appeared to be referring to Washington’s offensive cyberability, made clear in the American attacks on Iran’s nuclear program, code-named “Olympic Games,” which played out while she was secretary of state. Again, the United States has never admitted to that cyberoffensive action.

Mr. Trump seemed to try to deflect responsibility away from Moscow. “It could be Russia,” he said, “but it could also be China.” United States intelligence officials disagree: This most recent round of attacks, they concluded with “high confidence,” indeed originated from Russia.

TRUMP LIED because he's PUTIN's BITCH!

On Mr. Trump’s assertion that many NATO countries do not contribute their full share to NATO.

Mr. Trump was correct in asserting that many NATO countries do not contribute their full share to NATO — a complaint that Mr. Obama and a former secretary of defense, Robert Gates, have also voiced.But he was wrong about NATO failing to fight terrorism. NATO was in Afghanistan starting in 2003 — part of the battle against Al Qaeda.

TRUMP LIED

On Mr. Trump’s opposition to the Iraq war.

Mr. Trump said he opposed the war in Iraq before it began. But during the buildup to the war, he expressed his support in an interview with Howard Stern, according to audio unearthed by BuzzFeed.

HE'S TRUMP. HE LIES!

On Mr. Trump saying that China is “devaluing their currency” to gain an economic advantage.

This is an outdated accusation. Countries that hold down the value of their currency can sell goods in other countries more cheaply. And many economists see evidence that China suppressed the value of its currency for years, contributing to its rise as an industrial power. But in recent years, China has sought to stabilize and even increase the value of its currency, part of a broader shift in its economic policies. There is no evidence that China is presently engaging in currency devaluation.

TRUMP LIED

On Mr. Trump’s claim that Ford is leaving the United States and taking “thousands of jobs” with it.

Mr. Trump dishonestly described a dire situation for the United States’ industrial economy, saying that “Ford is leaving,” referring to the auto giant, and that “thousands of jobs are leaving Michigan, leaving Ohio. They’re all leaving.”

Ford is moving its manufacturing of many smaller cars to Mexico, buthas said that the move will not result in job losses in the United States.

Ohio and Michigan have, indeed, suffered major manufacturing job losses over the past generation. But in the past year, Ohio has gained 78,300 jobs, and Michigan has gained 75,800 jobs. In August, the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in Michigan and 4.7 percent in Ohio, both in line with the national rate.

TRUMP LIED

Mrs. Clinton on Mr. Trump’s tax plan:

Mrs. Clinton said that Mr. Trump’s tax plan would increase the federal debt by “over $5 trillion,” and that it would penalize middle-income families.

The conservative Tax Foundation estimates that Mr. Trump’s plan would cost a minimum of $4.4 trillion. A liberal group, Citizens for Tax Justice, pegs the minimum cost at$4.8 trillion. But the final bill could be significantly greater. Mr. Trump has offered multiple versions of some elements of his plan. A tax break for small businesses, in particular, could add more than $1 trillion to the final bill.

The Trump campaign, however, insists that the final cost would be just $2.6 trillion. This is based on a stripped-down version of Mr. Trump’s plan — one that is inconsistent with his campaign’s public promises. It also assumes that lower tax rates would encourage much stronger economic growth, reducing the cost.

Would it hurt the middle class? Mr. Trump’s plan would reduce the average tax burden for low-income, middle-income and upper-income households — but it would not cut everyone’s taxes. Indeed, a new analysis finds roughly 7.8 million families with children would pay higher taxes under Mr. Trump’s plan.

HILLARY TOLD THE TRUTH

On Mr. Trump and NAFTA DISTORTED and LIED:

Mr. Trump said that the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, “is the worst trade deal” in American history, and possibly in world history.

More than 20 years after its passage, NAFTA remains a political lightning rod. But the evidence suggests it wasn’t a big deal in economic terms. Indeed, the Congressional Research Service concluded in 2015 that the “net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest.” The reason: Trade with Canada and Mexico comprises a small portion of American economic activity.

TRUMP LIED and DISTORTED!