Fact-checking third night of RNC 2020.
In accepting the Republican Party nomination on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence accurately recounted thehistoryof Baltimore’s FortMcHenry and how a failed British bombardment in 1814 helped inspire Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Pence’s attacks on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, on the other hand, were sometimes misleading, incomplete or wrong.
“Joe Biden wants to end school choice.”
This is Mostly False. (Trump made the same claim in July.)
Biden wants to end voucher programs that use public money to pay for private school tuition. He also opposes for-profit and low-performing charter schools. But he supports high-performing charter schools and allowing students to pick among public schools. Those also qualify as school choice options.
“When asked whether he’d support cutting funding to law enforcement, (Biden) replied, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ ”
Pence took Biden’s remarks from an interview with liberal activist Ady Barkan out of context. Biden is opposed to defunding the police.
Barkan said deadly police encounters with citizens could be reduced if some police funding were redirected to social services, mental health counseling and affordable housing. “Are you open to that kind of reform?” Barkan asked.
Biden replied: “Yes. I proposed that kind of reform.”
Biden did not speak about reducing police funding. He talked about police using military equipment in their communities. Barkan then interjected, asking about the military equipment: “But do we agree that we can redirect some of the funding?”
Biden replied: “Yes. Absolutely.”
Biden has proposed more federal funding for community policing and has said he is open to shifting some police funding to services such as mental health counseling.
“President Trump marshaled the full resources of our federal government (to deal with the coronavirus) from the outset. He directed us to forge a seamless partnership with governors across America in both political parties.”
Revisionist history.
After declaring a national emergency over the health crisis on March 13, Trump directed governors to order their own ventilators, respirators and supplies, saying the federal government is “not a shipping clerk.” Governors say the disjointed response left states bidding against one another and the federal government for access to critical equipment.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it was akin to competing on eBay with 50 other states and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, pleaded for better coordination to ensure that supplies were distributed based on need.
As late as July, some governors were calling on the feds for help and not getting what they needed. There were shortages of testing supplies, as well as personal protection gear. Washington state asked for 4.2 million N95 respirators. It got a bit under 500,000. It asked for about 300,000 gowns. It got about 160,000.
“Joe Biden is for open borders, sanctuary cities, free lawyers and health care for illegal immigrants.”
This is a mix of misleading and accurate characterizations of Biden’s positions.
Open borders: Biden said that if elected, “there will not be another foot of wall constructed.” But that’s not the same as advocating for “open borders.” His immigration plan says he would enforce immigration laws, “implement effective border screening” and “secure our border, while ensuring the dignity of migrants and upholding their legal right to seek asylum.”
Sanctuary cities: Biden was asked at a Democratic primary debate if immigrants illegally in the country who are arrested by local police should be turned over to immigration officials. “No,” Biden answered. While there’s no official definition for sanctuary cities, the term is commonly applied to cities that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Free lawyers: Biden would double the number of immigration judges, court staff, and interpreters working on immigration cases. His plan says humanitarian needs are best met through a network of organizations, including legal nonprofits, and that Biden would “dramatically increase U.S. government resources” to support migrants waiting on their asylum cases and the organizations helping them. But it doesn’t specify “free lawyers.”
Health care: Biden supports extending health care access to all immigrants, even if they are illegally in the country. (The health care would not be “free.”) A task force comprised of appointees of Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recommended allowing immigrants illegally in the country to buy health insurance, without federal subsidies.
“Where this president achieved energy independence for the United States, Joe Biden would abolish fossil fuels (and) end fracking.”
The United States isn’t energy independent; it continues to import oil and natural gas, but the U.S. is close to regularly producing more energy than it consumes.
Beyond that, Pence offered a misleading portrayal of Biden’s positions on fossil fuels and fracking.
Overall, Biden’s plan calls for the U.S. to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Biden plans to pay for his plan by raising the corporate income tax rate, increasing taxes on wealthy Americans and using stimulus money.
Biden’s plan aims to wean the country off of fossil fuels. It says he would end subsidies for fossil fuels and redirect those resources to investments in clean energy infrastructure.
Biden has not called for banning hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” outright. He would block the federal government from issuing new permits for drilling on public land and would allow existing fracking operations to continue. He spoke inaccurately about his stance on fracking during a Democratic primary debate in March; his campaign had to clarify that official position hadn’t changed.
“Nancy Pelosi says that China would prefer Joe Biden.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Pelosi was relaying the words of the intelligence community. Intelligence officials have shared few public details, but their core finding was that Russia aimed to undercut Biden, while China and Iran didn’t want Trump to win.
“What they said is, China would prefer Joe Biden,” Pelosi said Aug. 9. “Whether they do — that’s their conclusion, that they would prefer Joe Biden.”