Continuing its newly rediscovered fascination with fact-checking, in remission during the eight years of Obama, the New York Times’ Linda Qiu (hired during the Trump era) delivered yet another overheated fact-check of a Trump speech, this one delivered at the World economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: “Where the Speech Veered From the Truth.”
Qiu on Saturday evaluated seven statements (cut to four in print) -- two true, two false, and three that fell into the strange Trump-only category “needs more context." It mean sort of a “yes, but,” followed by a Democratic-friendly rebuttal of Trump’s accurate point.
Note: Subheads signifying Trump statements are in italics:
In a speech on Friday to world and financial leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump mixed facts, falsehoods and claims that could use context.
Mr. Trump’s accurate claim of 2.4 million jobs added “since my election” requires more context.
The economy has added almost 2.4 million jobs in the 14 months since Mr. Trump was elected in November 2016 -- but it is worth noting that this number includes the last three months of Barack Obama’s presidency.
Also, as a point of comparison, the economy added 2.8 million jobs in the 14 months before Mr. Trump’s election....It is also debatable whether Mr. Trump, or any first-year president, can take full credit for a strong economy (or be censured, were it to happen, for weak economic performance).
But apparently all hate crimes in the Trump era can be laid at the president’s feet?
Mr. Trump’s claims about minority unemployment levels could use some context.
Mr. Trump is right that the unemployment rates for women and minorities are at or near historic lows. But it’s worth noting that these rates had been steadily declining for years by the time he took office.
Even when Qiu gave Trump credit for an accurate statement, she stretched for caveats.
Mr. Trump is right. The stock market has “added more than $7 trillion in new wealth since my election.” But the gains are not widely shared....But these gains in wealth have disproportionally benefited Americans by income bracket. Roughly half of Americans do not own stock directly or in retirement accounts and mutual funds, and the richest 10 percent of households controlled 84 percent of the total value of stocks....
....
Mr. Trump exaggerated the effect of his tax cuts on employee bonuses.
“It’s a fight for who’s going to give the most,” Mr. Trump said. “It started at $1,000, and now we have them up to $3,000.”....It’s worth noting that most of these businesses are financial institutions and, as my colleague Jim Tankersley has reported, “The payouts to workers reflect a small slice of the windfall that banks large and small are in line to receive.”
Qiu was also behind Saturday's article “The Facts Behind the Weaponized Phrase ‘Chain Migration.’” As if the New York Times hasn’t spent years weaponizing the phrases “The Dreamers” and “undocumented immigrants” (as opposed to “illegal immigrants”).
