Donald Trump has been known to make off-the-cuff remarks and occasionally exaggerate the truth, and he didn't exactly practice restraint during his first official speech as the Republican presidential nominee. "More than 4,000 have been killed in the Chicago area since [President Obama] took office," Trump alleged during his speech, apparently inflating the number written in his draft by 400.
According to Trump's prepared remarks, which were leaked to a Clinton-friendly super PAC earlier Thursday evening, he was actually supposed to claim there had been 3,600 homicides:
In the President’s hometown of Chicago, more than 2,000 have been the victims of shootings this year alone. And more than 3,600 have been killed in the Chicago area since he took office. [Politico]
Since President Obama took office in 2009, approximately 3,568 people have been killed in Chicago.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
What to know when filing a hurricane insurance claimThe Explainer A step-by-step to figure out what insurance will cover and what else you can do beyond filing a claim
-
How fees impact your investment portfolio — and how to save on them
The Explainer Even seemingly small fees can take a big bite out of returns
-
Enemy without
Cartoons
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
-
Mar-a-Lago IT director flipped on Trump after dropping Trump-linked lawyer, special counsel says
Speed Read
