Trump Campaign Press Release - Correct The Record: Joe Biden In Michigan?

IN FLINT

BIDEN: "… through eight years, without one single trace of scandal. Not one single trace of scandal."

FACT: Barack Obama and Joe Biden presided over numerous scandals across their eight years in office.

• Hillary Clinton set up a private email server that exposed classified and confidential U.S. government information to foreign adversaries.
• Through Operation Fast and Furious, the Obama-Biden Justice Department ran a secret program that allowed thousands of firearms to be sent over the Mexican border into the hands of drug cartels, culminating in the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent.
• Under the Obama-Biden Administration, the IRS aggressively targeted conservative organizations.
• Four Americans died during the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack in Libya.
• President Obama presided over the biggest data breach in the history of the federal government, exposing the personal information of millions of federal employees that left them vulnerable to identity theft, blackmail, and espionage.
• American veterans died waiting for appointments at the Obama-Biden VA, part of a larger effort to conceal between 1,400-1,600 veterans that were forced to wait months to receive care.

BIDEN: "Imagine where we'd be if we had a president who wore a mask instead of mocking it."

FACT: President Trump has strongly advocated that Americans wear masks, and he has worn one himself many times.

• In March, President Trump recommended that people could use a scarf as a mask.
• In April, President Trump announced that the CDC was recommending wearing face masks.
• In July, President Trump recommended that all Americans wear masks "whether they like the mask or not."
• In July, President Trump tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask and said wearing masks is patriotic.

BIDEN: "[President Trump] paid $750 in taxes."

FACT: This is false; President Trump has personally paid millions of dollars in taxes in 2016 and 2017.

• A Trump Organization spokesman has directly said that "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate" in The New York Times' reporting on the President's taxes.
• The Times'reporting is incorrect; the President paid $7.4 million in federal taxes in 2017, not $750.
• The Times' article ignores millions of dollars the President has paid in payroll, property, and other taxes, along with state and local taxes he has paid.

BIDEN: "If you notice, he's the only president I know of that have a secret bank account in China."

FACT: The bank account is neither secret nor President Trump's.

• Long before Donald Trump ran for president, Trump International Hotels Management opened an account in order to pay local taxes in China and to explore potential hotel deals in Asia.
• No deals, transactions, or other business activities ever materialized, and since 2015, the business office has remained inactive.
• The Trump Organization maintains bank accounts in other countries where it does business, as international businesses typically do.
• The Trump Organization's account proves one thing: an international hotel business was an international hotel business.
• Meanwhile, Joe Biden still owes the American people answers about his foreign corruption and dangerous ties to China.

BIDEN: "Under my plan, if you make less than $400,000 a year, you're not going to a penny in additional taxes."

FACT: Biden's $4 trillion tax hike will raise taxes on 82 percent of Americans, including those making under $400,000.

• Biden's $4 trillion tax hike is the largest proposed tax hike in a half century.
• Five independent analyses have concluded that Biden would reduce after-tax incomes for those making under $400,000.
• The Tax Policy Center concluded Biden's "proposals would increase taxes on average on all income groups."
• The Tax Foundation concluded Biden's plan would lead to higher taxes "across all income groups."
• The American Enterprise Institute concluded that "households at every income level" would see higher taxes.
• A Penn Wharton budget model analysis concluded that taxes would go up across all income levels.
• The Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget concluded that taxes would go up across all income levels.

BIDEN: "The actuary at the Social Security Administration says if he gets the plan passed, it will bankrupt Social Security by 2023."

FACT: This attack from Biden is false and has previously been debunked by fact checkers. The President's payroll tax deferral will not harm Social Security.

• The Washington Post's Fact Checker gave Biden's attack "Four Pinocchios," saying Biden and other "Democrats ginned up a letter from [Social Security's] chief actuary to describe a plan that does not currently exist."
• FactCheck.org and USA Todayhave debunked this and similar claims from Biden's campaign and his allies.
• President Trump wants to make the payroll tax deferral permanent next year, making this deferral a cut "without in any way, shape, or form hurting Social Security."
• The President has said he would use the Treasury Department's general fund to reimburse Social Security's trust fund, ensuring zero impact on our nation's seniors.
• Biden's attack is not only false, it is hypocritical.
• In 2011, Biden wrote an op-ed touting a bill Obama signed to cut the payroll tax, specifically saying it was "misinformation" to suggest a payroll tax cut hurt Social Security's solvency.
• President Trump has promised to always protect Social Security, unlike Biden who bragged in the 1990s about his efforts to "freeze" benefits.

BIDEN: "We'll keep your private insurance. You can choose a Medicare like public option if you don't."

FACT:Biden's public option will end up destroying the private health insurance that 180 million Americans rely on, crowding out these plans with a subsidized government-run plan.

• Biden's "public option" will jeopardize the private insurance plans held by millions of Americans, a fact that President Obama himself acknowledged in 2009.
• Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber conducted a study confirming that a public option would crowd out private health insurance plans, and later said "if the Democrats are right...it'll wipe out the private choice."
• The Obama-Biden Administration earned "Lie of the Year" when they made the same promise – that Americans could keep their private insurance if they wanted – when they passed Obamacare.
• Biden is campaigning on a healthcare agenda that would cancel health plans, raise taxes, skyrocket premiums, jeopardize rural hospitals, and bring America closer to a disastrous government-run healthcare system.
• Biden's running mate Kamala Harris has even openly said she supports eliminating private health insurance.

BIDEN: "[President Trump] called [servicemembers] losers and suckers."

FACT:At least 14 officials who were on the 2018 trip to France with President Trump have gone on the record to refute the anonymous sources and allegations in The Atlantic article:

• Sarah Sanders, former White House Press Secretary: "The Atlantic story on @realDonaldTrump is total BS. I was actually there and one of the people part of the discussion - this never happened."
• Hogan Gidley, former White House Deputy Press Secretary: "These are disgusting, grotesque, reprehensible lies. I was there in Paris and the President never said those things."
• Dan Scavino, White House Deputy Chief Of Staff for Communications: "I was with POTUS in France, with Sarah, and have been at his side throughout it all. Complete lies by 'anonymous sources'…"
• Jordan Karem, former Personal Aide to President Trump: "This is not even close to being factually accurate. plain and simple, it just never happened."
• Karem: "Again, this is 100% false. I was next to @POTUS the whole day! The President was greatly disappointed when told we couldn't fly there. He was incredibly eager to honor our Fallen Heroes."
• Johnny DeStefano, former Counselor to the President: "I was on this trip. The Atlantic bit is not true. Period."
• John Bolton, former National Security Advisor: "'I didn't hear that,' Mr. Bolton said in an interview. 'I'm not saying he didn't say them later in the day or another time but I was there for that discussion.'"
• Stephen Miller, White House Senior Adviser: The accusation is a "despicable lie … The president deeply wanted to attend the memorial event in question and was deeply displeased by the bad weather call."
• Tony Ornato, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and then-Head of the Secret Service's Presidential Protective Detail has said the story is false.
• Derek Lyons, Staff Secretary and Counselor to the President: "I was with the President the morning after the scheduled visit. He was extremely disappointed that arrangements could not be made to get him to the site, and that the trip had been cancelled."
• Dan Walsh, former White House Deputy Chief Of Staff: "I can attest to the fact that there was a bad weather call in France, and that the helicopters were unable to safely make the flight."
• Zach Fuentes, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff: "I did not hear POTUS call anyone losers when I told him about the weather."
• First Lady Melania Trump: "@TheAtlantic story is not true. It has become a very dangerous time when anonymous sources are believed above all else, & no one knows their motivation. This is not journalism - It is activism. And it is a disservice to the people of our great nation."
• Jamie McCourt, U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco: "In my presence, POTUS has NEVER denigrated any member of the U.S. military or anyone in service to our country. And he certainly did not that day, either. Let me add, he was devastated to not be able to go to the cemetery at Belleau Wood. In fact, the next day, he attended and spoke at the ceremony in Suresnes in the pouring rain."
• Major General William Matz (ret.), Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission: "I was the host of the event discussed by the false and despicable article published in The Atlantic magazine on 3 September. On 10 November 2018, I was at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery awaiting the arrival of President Trump. As a former Army infantryman who has flown on many helicopters, I knew that morning the weather was bad and the ceiling was too low for a safe landing that day. When the President's visit was appropriately canceled due to weather, I received word also that he was upset he would not be able to make the wreath-laying visit and to pay his respect to the 2300 fallen soldiers and Marines interred there. … Those who know President Trump know that the anonymous smears peddled by The Atlantic have no basis in fact or reality, and do a terrible disservice to journalism and to our veterans, living and deceased."
• Additionally, The Atlantic's reporting has been refuted by a White House email and Navy documents that directly show a "bad weather call" was the reason for the canceled presidential trip to Aisne-Marne cemetery in 2018.

BIDEN: "Putin put bounties on the heads of American soldiers serving in Iraq, and Trump was too scared to challenge him. Talked to him six times and has never mentioned it."

FACT: This is false. Top military and intelligence officials have strongly emphasized that the reporting of bounties is completely unproven, and the Trump Administration has taken strong action against Russia.

• In July, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said "all the defense intel agencies have been unable to corroborate that report."
• In September, General Frank McKenzie Commander of U.S Central Command said that when it comes to evidence about bounties being placed on the heads of American service members "I just haven't seen it."
• Regardless, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia that there would be "an enormous price to pay" if any such bounties existed.
• President Trump and his administration have been tougher on Russia than any past administration, a fact confirmed by Obama-Biden Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
• President Trump has repeatedly pushed back against Russian attempts to threaten American institutions, including imposing sanctions on hundreds of individuals and entities suspected of attempted election interference.
• To hold Russia accountable for their repeated violations, President Trump withdrew the United States from both the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and Open Skies Treaty.
• The Trump Administration imposed harsh penalties in response to Russia's evasion of sanctions against North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Venezuela.
• President Trump placed strong sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, warning Germany and other nations about the dangers of relying on Russian energy.

BIDEN: "We're going to act to get COVID under control, on day one of my presidency I'll put in action a plan … I've been talk about for months, a plan that I laid out, a national mandate, mask wearing."

FACT: Biden is again botching the facts on mask mandates; just yesterday, Biden admitted the President does not have the authority to implement a national mask mandate.

• On October 30, Biden said that he does not think he has the authority to mandate masks at the federal level.
• On September 2, Biden admitted the President did not have the Constitutional power to implement a national mask mandate.

IN DETROIT

BIDEN: "Trump and the Republicans have jammed through a Supreme Court nomination and you know why, one reason, to destroy the Affordable Care Act."

FACT: This is false; Judge Barrett has not expressed a view about the constitutionality of Obamacare or about the current case pending before the Supreme Court.

• Judge Amy Coney Barrett has not ruled on Obamacare, taking a firm position that a Judge's role is to interpret the law, not to legislate from the bench.