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The first presidential debate annotated

National

Trumptight — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during the presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By Allison Graves
September 27, 2016

By Joseph Cariz
September 27, 2016

By Katherine Burns
September 27, 2016

By Rachel Tiede
September 27, 2016

We’re annotating the first presidential debate on Medium. See the transcripts and the facts behind what the candidates said here.

Our Sources

Listed inside the Medium annotations.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Allison Graves

Democratic Governors Association
stated on July 13, 2018 a post on Medium:

Says Adam Putnam "backed a water bill that gutted water quality regulations."

By Allison Graves • July 18, 2018

Rick Scott
stated on June 13, 2018 an ad:

Says Sen. Bill Nelson "voted for higher taxes" 349 times.

By Allison Graves • July 5, 2018

Ron DeSantis
stated on June 28, 2018 a Fox News debate:

Says Adam Putnam "endorsed the Schumer-Obama Gang of Eight immigration amnesty."

By Allison Graves • June 29, 2018

Bill Nelson
stated on June 21, 2018 an ad:

Says he "actually wrote the bipartisan law that makes it illegal to drill off Florida’s coast."

By Allison Graves • June 29, 2018

Adam Putnam
stated on June 7, 2018 an interview with Fox News:

Florida taxpayers "pay tens of millions of dollars a year to feed and house in our prison system criminal illegal aliens."

By Allison Graves • June 26, 2018

New Republican PAC
stated on June 11, 2018 a political ad:

Says Bill Nelson voted for "cuts to Medicare providers" and voted to weaken "Social Security protections" as a U.S. senator.

By Allison Graves • June 15, 2018

Andrew Gillum
stated on June 20, 2018 a debate:

Under Philip Levine, Miami Beach "passed a resolution to ban assault rifles, which was not enforceable and never enforced. He passed a resolution to raise the minimum wage, which actually no one got the benefit of because it was not enforced."

By Allison Graves • June 9, 2018

Florida Democratic Party
stated on June 6, 2018 in a press release:

"Flip Flop! After opposing term limits for decades, Adam Putnam adopts Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis’ position."

By Allison Graves • June 8, 2018

Ron DeSantis
stated on June 2, 2018 during a BBQ :

"The bulk of the problem with the opioid epidemic is the fentanyl and all the synthetic drugs coming across the southern border."

By Allison Graves • June 7, 2018

Florida House Majority Office
stated on May 17, 2018 a video:

It is a "myth" that "per-student funding only rose by 47 cents this year."

By Allison Graves • May 30, 2018

Senate Majority PAC
stated on May 21, 2018 in an ad:

Says Bill Nelson is "one of America’s most independent senators."

By Allison Graves • May 24, 2018

Bloggers
stated on May 14, 2018 a post on Facebook:

"BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump On His Way To Donate Kidney To Melania Trump."

By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018

Bloggers
stated on May 15, 2018 a post on Facebook:

"Legendary Actor Sidney Poitier: Donald Trump might become 'The Greatest Of All Time.' "

By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018

The Collective super PAC
stated on May 11, 2018 an ad:

Says Gwen Graham "voted against President Obama 52 percent of the time."

By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018

Bloggers
stated on May 14, 2018 a post on the Internet:

Says Julia Roberts told Celine Dion, "If you hate Trump you can go in your country."

By Allison Graves • May 15, 2018

The first presidential debate annotated

Clear

TikTok posts
stated on una publicación en TikTok:

Estas imágenes no son de personas infectadas con el hantavirus, fueron sacadas de contexto

By Maria Briceño • May 13, 2026

Donald Trump
stated on on May 7, 2026 in remarks to reporters:

Trump is wrong: Gas prices have reached near record highs, not ‘come down very substantially’

May 11, 2026

Liz Krueger
stated on March 5, 2026 an op-ed:

Proposed data centers in New York state would use “approximately double the energy usage of all households in the state combined.”

By Conor Amendola, Ryan Lombardi • May 7, 2026

X posts
stated on May 6, 2026 a social media post:

“California only has ‘enough’ oil and gas supply to meet demand for the next six weeks.”

By Louis Jacobson • May 7, 2026

Donald Trump
stated on May 4, 2026 a White House event:

“Consumer confidence is way up."

By Louis Jacobson • May 6, 2026

Sam Sutton
stated on March 11, 2026 a rally:

From January 2025 to January 2026, “hate crimes in New York City increased by 152%”

By Emma Gavazzi • May 5, 2026

Fentrice Driskell
stated on April 29, 2026 an interview:

“Under federal law, you cannot engage in partisan gerrymandering.”

By Samantha Putterman • May 1, 2026

Instagram posts
stated on April 26, 2026 una publicación en Instagram:

Imagen muestra que “950 inmigrantes derrumbaron el muro fronterizo entre México y Estados Unidos intentando ingresar a Estados Unidos” en abril 2026.

By Maria Briceño • April 30, 2026

Bernie Sanders
stated on April 22, 2026 a Senate committee hearing:

“As a result of the 'Big Beautiful Bill' 15 million Americans have been thrown off the healthcare that they need."

By Amy Sherman • April 30, 2026

Tim Scott
stated on April 26, 2026 an X post:

“Secret Service remains unpaid” during the partial government shutdown.

By Louis Jacobson • April 29, 2026

Pine Tree Results PAC
stated on April 26, 2026 an ad:

“Graham Platner blames Maine’s women for getting raped because he says they get f----- up drunk"

By Amy Sherman • April 29, 2026

Social Media
stated on April 26, 2026 social media posts:

Video shows “unedited raw security footage” of the shooter at the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

By Maria Briceño • April 29, 2026

Donald Trump
stated on April 23, 2026 remarks at the White House:

“We are right now producing more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined.”

By Louis Jacobson • April 29, 2026

Ron DeSantis
stated on April 27, 2026 an interview with Fox News Digital:

Since the 2020 census, Florida has "moved from a Democrat majority to a 1.5 million Republican advantage."

By Louis Jacobson, Samantha Putterman • April 29, 2026

Social Media
stated on April 26, 2026 publicaciones en redes sociales:

“Tras el atentado a Trump”, en la cena de corresponsales de la Casa Blanca el 25 de abril, “Irán lanza un mensaje fuerte: ‘no le crean nada, miente’”.

By Maria Briceño • April 28, 2026

Jay Collins
stated on April 20, 2026 a campaign document:

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds voted "against three pay raises for military service members, including the largest pay raise for the military in 22 years."

By Samantha Putterman • April 23, 2026

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on April 22, 2026 testimony to the Senate Finance Committee:

"There's two ways of calculating percentage" decreases. “If you have a $600 drug and you reduce it to $10, that's a 600% reduction."

By Louis Jacobson • April 23, 2026

Joe Rogan
stated on April 18, 2026 comments at the Oval Office:

“With one dose of ibogaine, more than 80% of people are free of (opioid) addiction. With two doses, it's more than 90%.”

By Grace Abels • April 22, 2026

X posts
stated on April 21, 2026 an X post:

“Newly released FOIA door logs show that former President Joe Biden didn't enter the Oval Office once after the 2024 election.”

By Maria Briceño • April 22, 2026

Chris Wright
stated on April 19, 2026 an interview on CNN's "State of the Union":

Solar and wind have not reached “3% of global energy.”

By Louis Jacobson • April 22, 2026

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The first presidential debate annotated

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Allison Graves

The first presidential debate annotated