Trump 'yet again broke the fact-check meter' in the final presidential debate, while Biden made a 'few gaffes'

Daniel Dale fact-checks
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CNN)

"President Trump yet again broke the fact-check meter at the second presidential debate, while Democratic nominee Joe Biden made relatively few gaffes," target="_blank">The Washington Post's fact-check team concluded after Thursday's final presidential debate of 2020.

"The facts took a hit right out of the gate Thursday night," target="_blank">The Associated Press concurred. "Trump's first line of the night, about COVID-19 deaths, was false," and he "misrepresented the reality of the pandemic in myriad and familiar ways, insisting against obvious reality that the pandemic is drawing to a close." At times, Biden "was selective on the coronavirus and other matters, at one point stating that no one under ObamaCare lost private health coverage," AP adds. "Millions did."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up

Trump "is running for re-election on a strategy of serial, deliberate dishonesty, and it's getting worse," Dale said. "The version of Trump we got in this debate is worse from a fact-check perspective, from an honestly perspective, than the Trump we got in that first debate, even though he was more belligerent in the first debate. His rallies are also getting more dishonest. And it's just a bombardment. I mean, literally his first sentence tonight was inaccurate — I don't know if I've ever seen that before in a debate."

"I think the most important piece of dishonestly from either candidate is Trump's repeated insistence that the pandemic is going away or rounding some sort of turn or corner," Dale added. "This is getting worse and worse and the president keeps saying it's getting better and it's about to vanish." Watch CNN's super-cut of Dale tackling false claims — and incidentally get a recap of some of the debate's key moments — below. Peter Weber

'Serial deliberate dishonesty': Final presidential debate fact check - YouTube 'Serial deliberate dishonesty': Final presidential debate fact check - YouTube
Watch On
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

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.