As states struggle under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress and the president have enacted a series of massive bills to try to bolster the health care response and help rescue the economy. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recently made a comment that suggests he’s tired of big spending for cash-strapped states. […]
“The Week in Fact-checking” compiles short summaries of our best work; the links will take you to our full reports. Want this report early and via email? Sign up here. This week: The keys to coronavirus testing … Stimulus checks and taxes … How ‘progressive’ is Joe Biden? … More on the national lockdown messages […]
President Donald Trump is walking back what he said during an April 23 coronavirus press briefing about using disinfectants to treat COVID-19 patients. “I was asking a very sarcastic question to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside,” he said during a briefing in the Oval Office on April 24. “But it […]
PolitiFact launched a new YouTube series this week to cover misinformation about the pandemic. The first two episodes of “Truth-O-Meter Minute” are available to watch on YouTube and on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). They tackle claims you may have seen on Facebook about President Donald Trump’s interest in hydroxychloroquine and privacy settings […]
The novel coronavirus has sent more than 120,000 Americans to hospitals for treatment. But President Donald Trump says nobody in need of a ventilator has been denied one. “I said from the beginning that no American who needs a ventilator would be denied a ventilator and we have kept that promise all over the United […]
Thousands of people in vehicles and some on foot clogged streets around Michigan’s capitol April 15 to protest Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home coronavirus order. “Operation Gridlock,” as it was called, was “probably the largest showing to date of conservative pushback against social distancing restrictions,” the Washington Post reported. In response, Whitmer, a Democrat elected in […]
In recent days, a number of state capitals have faced protests against continued stay-at-home orders and business closures. These have put a spotlight on the dilemmas faced by the nation’s governors over whether, and how, to open their economies again. So how do Americans actually feel? Americans, many of whom have been stuck at home […]
President Donald Trump’s recent pledge to halt U.S. funding for the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic has set off some of his critics, who say doing so is illegal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement that Trump’s decision is “dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged.” Others drew a […]
President Donald Trump continues to tout the country’s increased testing capabilities in his coronavirus briefings. He says that there’s a “tremendous amount” of unused testing capacity in states available for governors to tap, and that swabs and reagents — the materials needed to conduct the tests — are “so easy to get.” But several governors […]
Priorities USA, a large Democratic super PAC, has been releasing a slew of ads featuring individual Americans talking about COVID-19. Some are about personal medical problems and social distancing; others are with health care professionals talking about supply shortages. One ad features Frank Mora, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and professor of politics […]
The coronavirus has two battlegrounds in America — one in the field of medicine and public health, and the other in politics. On the political front, the Trump campaign launched an ad April 9 that accused Democrat Joe Biden of protecting China’s image as the pandemic unfolded. The Biden campaign returned with a new ad, […]
“The Week in Fact-checking” compiles short summaries of our best work; the links will take you to our full reports. Want this report early and via email? Sign up here. This week: Trump on presidential power … the perils and promise of antibody testing … Nobody has died twice …. Democratic Rep. gets U.S. testing […]