How much 'fake news' did Trump try to pass off on Monday? Axios counts.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 17 October 2017

President Trump has gotten some flak for claiming, falsely, that former President Barack Obama and other ex-presidents did not call the families of fallen troops, but that was only one of the bits of indisputably "fake news" Trump spread during his two interactions with reporters on Monday, by Mike Allen's count at Axios early Tuesday. ObamaCare isn't "dead," for example, because Trump's "repeated efforts to repeal it failed," Allen notes, and the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell aren't "closer than ever before," because "both men and their staffs have been trashing each other in public and private for months."

Trump spreading fake news isn't new, Allen concedes, "and, yes, 35 percent of voters don't seem to care. But that doesn't make it any less dangerous." You can read his list of other demonstrable untruths, a few Trump "keeper" quotes, and a bonus prognostication from Stephen Bannon at Axios.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.