Our Ruling
Our RulingTrump said that more than 100,000 people die from the flu and "in most populations, COVID-19 is far less lethal."
In the past decade, the average yearly death toll from the flu has been 35,900. About 50 years ago, 100,000 people died one year, but that was an anomaly.
Overall, the data show that COVID-19 is more deadly than the flu. By one estimate, it is 10 times more deadly.
Comparing death rates for age groups is more challenging, but the data shows that for everyone over 30, COVID-19 is deadlier than the flu.
We rate this claim False.
Our RulingPresident Trump said that the Commission on Presidential Debates wrote him an apology letter in 2016 over oscillating his microphone during the first general election debate against Hillary Clinton.
The organization released a one-sentence statement that noted that there was an issue with Trump’s audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall, but not his audio for Americans who watched the debate on TV.
The group was not forced to publicly apologize for the malfunction and we found no evidence that it sent Trump a letter doing so.
Trump’s claim is unsubstantiated. We rate it False.
Our RulingWhile claiming there is widespread mail voting fraud, President Trump said ballots in Wisconsin "are being dumped in rivers" or creeks.
In context, viewers were left with the impression that ballots were disposed of en masse in some sort of waterway. There’s no evidence of that.
We base our ratings on what is known at the time of the claim. And on Sept. 29, as is the case now, Trump’s statement was wrong in both the literal claim (a "river") and the implication (that this is evidence of fraud). A small number of ballots were found with hundreds of pieces of other mail, and authorities have said nothing to indicate election manipulation motivated the incident.
The information released after the debate — that no Wisconsin ballots were found — muddles the situation given the apparent conflict with earlier information. But it doesn’t change this rating.
We rate this claim False.
Our RulingPence said Biden and Harris support abortion "up to the moment of birth."
Biden and Harris have not said they support abortion "up to the moment of birth." They say they support the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized abortion and allowed states to regulate it after fetal viability. They also say they are against state laws that conflict with the case, and would work to codify the ruling into law.
One expert said that Democrats’ intent to codify Roe could preempt state laws restricting abortion, and that a related case has a health exception broad enough to allow abortions "up to the moment of birth." But several other experts said that supporting Roe or related cases is not the same as supporting abortion "up to the moment of birth." They said that generally, people who support Roe mean they support the existence of a right to have an abortion or to not criminalize it.
Pence’s claim creates a wrong impression of Biden’s and Harris’ statements and of the common interpretation of cases that affirmed abortion rights.
We rate his claim False.
Our RulingPence said in a Facebook ad that, as vice president, Harris would "defund, dismantle, and dissolve police departments."
That’s wrong.
Biden’s official campaign platform says his administration would not defund police departments. Harris’ press secretary said she does not support defunding the police. Her former presidential campaign platform did not mention it.
In media appearances, Harris has called for "reimagining" public safety across the country. But she hasn’t explicitly said she supports defunding police departments, and Harris has said she doesn’t want to get rid of law enforcement.
Pence’s ad is inaccurate. We rate it False.
Trump lies all the time, about everything."DEMS WANT TO SHUT YOUR CHURCHES DOWN, PERMANENTLY," Trump tweeted Oct. 7. "HOPE YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING. VOTE NOW!"
Democrats are not calling for churches to be permanently closed.
Many states — including those governed by Republicans — have required residents to wear face coverings in public, banned large gatherings and ordered non-essential businesses to close. Some states exempted churches from their coronavirus restrictions.
Trump’s tweet is inaccurate and makes a ridiculous claim. We rate it Pants on Fire!