The Associate Press reports that Trump told some major whoppers about a variety of international issues.
Trade:
- Claim: “We won, in the World Trade Organization, we won $7.5 billion dollars. We never used to win before me, because, before me, the United States was a sucker for all of these different organizations.”
- Fact: 🤥 The United State has a highly successful outcome when pursuing cases against other countries at the WTO.
- Libertarian Cato Institute found that the US had won 91% of times it brought a complaint that ended up being adjudicated by the Geneva-based trade monitor.
- The $7.5 billion dollars applies to tariffs the US imposed on European goods.
Impeachment:
- Claim: “For the hearings, we don’t get a lawyer.”
- Fact: 🤥 He and his attorneys refused a recent invitation to attend Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee’s hearing.
- Trump has until Friday to decide whether he and/or his attorneys will show up for next week’s hearings.
- Trump still has not figured out how impeachment hearings work and apparently, neither has his Cult.
- This is not a trial.
- This is not a CRIMINAL proceeding; it is a CIVIL proceeding.
- NO ONE needs to present evidence of any alleged crimes because this isn’t a criminal trial.
- The Constitution does not state what other crimes could entail other than treason and bribery.
- Claim: Asked if Mulvaney or Pompeo should testify. Answer: “We don’t get any witnesses. …This is a fix. …I want them to testify, but I want them to testify in the Senate where they’ll get a fair trial.”
- Fact: 🤥 The Republicans did invite Turley and Trump said he would rather wait until an actual hearing (the trial!) happens in the Senate.
ISIS:
- Claim: Trump claimed many, captured ISIS fighters came from France and Germany.
- Fact: 🤥 Some came from Europe, but those numbers are very small. “There are More than 12,000 IS fighters in custody in Kurdish areas, only 2,500 are from outside the region of the conflict, some from Europe, some from other parts of the world. Most of the captured fighters — about 10,000 — are natives of Syria or Iraq.”
- Claim: “We have the oil, and we can do with the oil what we want.”
- Fact: 🤥 The oil belongs to Syria and the United States cannot take, use, or re-direct it; it belongs to Syria. The United States cannot do anything with it.
