The Partisan 'Fact Checkers' Let Barack Obama Smear the GOP As Much As He Wants

Tim Graham
February 16th, 2026 10:43 AM

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Quiz: How many times has Barack Obama been "fact checked" by PolitiFact since he left office in 2017?

Answer: Seven -- in nine years. Only one was a "Mostly False." There was one "True," two "Mostly Trues," and three "Half Trues."

By contrast, PolitiFact dumped eleven "fact checks" on Donald Trump in the first 45 days of 2026 -- and eight of them are "Mostly False" or worse. Three are "Half True," and nothing is True at all.

So when Obama granted an interview to leftist YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, he can be fairly confident that the "fact checkers" won't be poised to pounce. So he can say nasty things about the Republicans, and nobody finds a falsehood. Take this rant, where he supported ending the filibuster in the Senate because the Republicans don't care about laws, or democracy, or truth: 

BARACK OBAMA: I don't want us to simply duplicate the behavior of the other side. I don't want us to have a slash-and-burn strategy where we don't care about rule of law. We don't care about some of the guardrails around our democracy. We start lying and having no regard for the truth the way the other side seems to be comfortable with right now, because if that's how we fight, then we lose what we're fighting for. But that doesn't mean we have to get punked or be saps. And I do, or to cling to traditions just for the sake of tradition.

Typically, Democrats can say pretty much anything they want about the Republicans, and it's fair commentary. The "independent fact checkers" are there to help Democrats define Republicans as "having no regard for the truth."

Obama fans can lie shamelessly, too, like this Facebook boast about Obama's interview: "GREAT MORNING! Here’s a Video Mix of an Interview of Obama w/ Brian Tyler Cohen .. He Did Not Insult ANYONE !!"

The X account Western Lensman pulled out Obama spreading the hoax that ICE used a five-year-old as "bait" to catch an immigrant. Zero fear of fact checkers! 

 

On February 13, Amy Sherman performed a typical check on Trump, taking on this quote: Crime in Minneapolis “is down 25, 30% because we’ve removed thousands of criminals from the area.” Their retort: "Trump credits immigration enforcement for Minneapolis crime drop. That’s wrong." The rating was "Mostly False."

The Trump White House provided data to PolitiFact, but they weren't buying it: 

Here’s what data from Jan. 1 through Feb. 4, the date of Trump’s interview, show:

  • 134 burglaries in 2026, down from 219 in 2025, a decline of 39%

  • 71 robberies in 2026, down from 95, a decline of 25%. 

  • Two homicides in 2026, down from five, both numbers too small to be considered statistically significant. 

However, the city homicide data the White House relied upon doesn’t capture the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents.... 

We asked the White House what evidence it has that the declines it cited are because of its immigration enforcement arrests. They provided no evidence.

"Removing dangerous criminals from the streets obviously means less crime is being committed," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.

One can easily state that President Trump is prone to exaggerating the success of his policies. One can also easily state that Obama still calls his "signature achievement" the "Affordable Care Act," which hasn't turned out so well. 

Overall at PolitiFact, Obama has 603 fact checks, and almost HALF of them -- 48 percent -- are "True" or "Mostly True." Only 25 percent of them (151) are Mostly False or worse. 

Trump is in a category all his own, with 1,143 fact checks -- 888 of them (77.7 percent) are "Mostly False" or worse, with a staggering count of 221 "Pants on Fire" ratings. Only 122 of them (10.7 percent) are True or Mostly True, and PolitiFact probably puked a little each time. 

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