By Jessica Cunha ’17
It is no surprise that those involved in politics are not 100 percent truthful. Whether it be little white lies or huge scandals, candidates will not only try to put themselves in the best light, but defame their competition. Separating truth from lies can be tricky, so here’s a quick fact-check on some of the more surprising statements from this election cycle.
“African-Americans are more likely to be arrested by police and sentenced to longer prison terms for doing the same thing that whites do.” -Hillary Clinton (aired in a TV ad on Feb. 23)
ANSWER: Fact. According to the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, this claim checks out.
Says CNN reported Ben Carson was “taking a break from campaigning” and the Cruz campaign “forwarded that news to our volunteers.”-Ted Cruz (Feb. 6 in the New Hampshire GOP debate)
ANSWER: Fiction. Cruz later admitted that he and his team had made a mistake, but, let’s be honest, he just wanted to rally up some last minute votes—and it worked.
“Look at those hands, are they small hands? He referred to my hands — ‘if they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.” -Donald Trump (March 3 during a Republican presidential debate)
ANSWER: Up to debate. But honestly, this has to be the most insignificant thing to ever come out of Trump’s mouth, and that’s saying a lot.
Hillary Clinton says she and Bill Clinton were “dead broke” in 2001. (June 9, 2014 in an interview with ABC)
ANSWER: Fiction. Clinton’s public financial records show that she is just fine.
“The African-American community lost half of their wealth as a result of the Wall Street collapse.”-Bernie Sanders (Feb. 11 at the PBS Democratic debate)
ANSWER: Fact. Minorities were hit harder during the Wall Street collapse according to a 2013 report from the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.
Regarding her State Department email practices, “my predecessors did the same thing.”-Hillary Clinton (March 9 in a Univision/Washington Post Democratic debate)
ANSWER: Fiction. It was only one person Hillary, but nice try.
“Mahatma Gandhi once said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” -Donald Trump (Feb. 28 in an Instagram post)
ANSWER: Trump did post it, but it’s definitely a work of fiction. Even Donald Trump falls for mistakes on the internet while posting on Instagram. This is most definitely not a Gandhi quote.
“There have been multiple media reports about (Donald Trump’s) business dealings with the mob, with the mafia.”-Ted Cruz (February 28 in comments on “Meet the Press”)
ANSWER: Fact. Trump has been linked to the mob. His business dealings with famous mob members La Cosa Nostra and Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno are sketchy at best.
“When you’re white…you don’t know what it’s like to be poor.”-Bernie Sanders (March 6 in a Democratic debate in Flint, Mich.)
ANSWER: Fiction. Actually, almost 20 million white Americans are in poverty.
“The New York Times can write a story that they know is false” yet “they can’t basically be sued.”-Donald Trump (Feb. 28 in an interview with “Fox News Sunday”)
ANSWER: Fiction. Ever heard of a libel case, Trump?
