'It's just not there': Fact-checker shuts down Trump's budget claims
President Donald Trump spoke to a rally crowd at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday night, but CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale said there were several fibs.
Speaking Friday morning, Dale only had time to cite two major ones. First, Trump's 2024 campaign promise not to tax Social Security. It's not in the bill.
"You can read the bill. It's just not there," Dale said. "Now, what the bill does do is take a step in the direction of fulfilling that campaign promise. It creates an additional tax deduction for seniors, people 65 plus of $6,000 per year. The White House claims that [the] additional deduction means that about 88% of people 65-plus will not be paying tax on their Social Security benefits, up from a current 64%. Even if that's true, though, that still leaves about 7 million Social Security recipients, above 65, who will still be paying tax."
He noted that it doesn't include those under 65.
"But no 'no tax on Social Security,' period. As the president keeps saying, is just not there," said Dale.
The other fact-check came from Trump's erroneous claim that people didn't have autism 20 years ago.
"Yeah, there was autism in 2005," Dale continued. "Many viewers may have known someone with autism in 2005. The CDC publishes autism prevalence data. You can go look. It shows that in 2004, about 21 years ago, the known prevalence of autism among children was about 1 in 125. In 2006, so about 19 years ago, it was up to about 1 in 110."
He explained that over the years, the tools used to screen for autism have advanced, and an understanding of autism has increased the number who might seek treatment. He cited studies that show some genetic factors are at play in the cause, as well as exposure to pollution and pesticides.
See the clip below or at the link here.
- YouTube www.youtube.com