The initial presidential debate of the 2024 election season was a heated encounter between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — both sharing the debate stage after almost four years.
Thursday’s debate introduced new rules, mutually agreed upon by both candidates, with the aim of preventing insults and interruptions. Microphones were muted when it wasn’t a candidate’s turn to speak, and there was no live audience present.
However, as the presumed Democratic and Republican presidential nominees faced off on Thursday night, both had a track record of making false, misleading, or exaggerated statements. The Scripps News team closely followed the debate to scrutinize some of the claims made by both candidates and fact-check their accuracy.
CLAIM: Rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were “ushered in by the police.”
- While the motivations of every individual rioter cannot be determined, those who breached the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, were involved in a riot, with at least a portion of the group intending to overthrow the government. The gravity of the situation goes beyond a mere “violent protest,” as evidenced by court rulings that have proven many rioters guilty. According to the DOJ, as of May 2024:
– More than 1,400 individuals had been charged with crimes related to the attack
– More than 500 were charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement
– More than 130 were charged with using a deadly weapon or causing serious harm to an officer
– Four pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy
– Over 160 individuals were found guilty in contested trials
– More than 800 individuals had their cases adjudicated and received sentences.
CLAIM: Trump’s hush-money case was “a Biden trial.”
- There is no credible evidence presented by Trump, his attorneys, or supporters to suggest that Joe Biden masterminded, ordered, or implied this investigation. According to Politifact, the investigation commenced before Joe Biden assumed the presidency and shortly after Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to tax and campaign finance crimes, among others. Trump’s own investigation was reportedly delayed due to the pandemic and staff turnover. New Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took over the case from his predecessor, Cyrus Vance, and indictments were postponed because of Trump’s status as a sitting president.
CLAIM: The Biden administration is accountable for “the largest deficit in the history of our country.”
- This statement is, at best, misleading. Trump, during his 2016 campaign, highlighted the necessity to eliminate or at least reduce the debt. However, neither Trump nor President Biden managed to decrease the public debt, and neither came close to the historic low of about $34,000 in 1835 (unadjusted).
CLAIM: Biden proclaimed, “I don’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world.”
- Three American troops lost their lives during a drone strike at a U.S. military base in Jordan earlier this year. These deaths marked the first U.S. fatalities attributed to Iran-backed militia groups, intensifying attacks on American forces following the Israel-Hamas conflict in October, according to The Associated Press. Additionally, two U.S. Navy SEALs perished during a mission in January while attempting to intercept a vessel carrying Iranian-made weapons.
CLAIM: Trump was charged with “having sex with a porn star.”
- A jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in his New York criminal hush money trial, including records related to an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. However, Trump has not been charged or convicted of “having sex with a porn star.”
CLAIM: Dangerous criminal immigrants are crossing the border.
- While some undocumented immigrants have committed violent offenses, labelling an influx of migrants as a surge of dangerous criminals lacks empirical support. Studies have consistently indicated that undocumented immigrants are less likely to be arrested or convicted of crimes compared to native U.S. citizens. Furthermore, data from Customs and Border Protection revealed that in fiscal year 2023, “criminal noncitizens” accounted for 0.4% of overall encounters, which equates to roughly 15,000 out of over 3.2 million. The specifics of how many of these 15,000 individuals had been convicted of violent crimes remains unclear due to how CBP data is recorded and categorized.
CLAIM: Under Trump’s presidency, “We had the greatest economy in history.”
More of our coverage:
