Fact Checking Tuesday's Presidential Debate

Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump met for the first time on the debate stage this Tuesday. Moderators live fact-checked Trump several times during the debate; however, both candidates made claims that require further analysis.

Immigration: Age of Misinformation

TRUMP: “You see what’s happening with towns throughout the United States. You look at Springfield, Ohio, you look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden let into our country, and they’re destroying our country. They’re dangerous. They’re at the highest level of criminality, and we have to get them out.”

Over the past two years, more than 40,000 Venezuelan immigrants have settled in the Denver metro area, with a significant number now residing in Aurora. Recently, a video showing gang members in an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, circulated in right-wing media, leading to claims that Venezuelan gangs are taking over the city.

However, Aurora officials, as well as residents of the apartment building in question, have dismissed these claims and blamed property managers CBZ Properties.

Additionally, violent crime is on the decline across the country, according to the most recent FBI data. Analysts predict that violent crimes will return back down to pre-pandemic levels and could even approach a 50-year low.

TRUMP: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Another recent story about what right-wing media is now calling ‘migrant crime’ claims that immigrants from Haiti are eating pets in the town of Springfield, Ohio.

Local police have deemed the claim unfounded, saying it first gained attention amongst far-right activists, local Republicans, and neo-Nazis before being echoed by congressional leaders, vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, and others. After Vance shared the theory on social media, a prominent advocate for the Haitian community reported facing a surge of racist harassment.

The Springfield News-Sun reported that police found no evidence of pets being stolen or eaten, stating that such incidents were “not something that’s on our radar right now.” The newspaper traced the baseless claim to a post in a Springfield Facebook group, which was widely circulated across social media.

Fracking: Will She, Won’t She?

HARRIS: “I will not ban fracking. I have not banned fracking as vice president United States, and in fact, I was the tie-breaking vote on the inflation Reduction Act which opened new leases for fracking.”

When Kamala Harris first ran for president in 2019, she supported a ban on fracking. However, she shifted her position after joining President Biden’s ticket. Under the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. reached a record high in oil production last year, averaging 12.9 million barrels per day, surpassing the previous record of 12.3 million barrels set during Trump’s presidency in 2019. Domestic natural gas production also hit record levels in 2023, much of it driven by hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

At the same time, the Biden-Harris administration has overseen significant growth in solar and wind energy, while coal has continued to decline as a source of electricity.

Abortion: After Birth Executions

TRUMP: “You could do abortions in the seventh month, the eighth month, the ninth month, and probably after birth.”

As ABC News anchor Linsey Davis mentioned during her real-time fact check, there is no state where it is legal to kill a baby after birth (Trump called it “execution”). A report from KFF earlier this year also noted that abortions “after birth” are illegal in every state.

Harris pushed back forcefully, stating, “Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion. That isn’t happening; it’s insulting to the women of America.”

She also referenced religion in her remarks, emphasizing that “one does not have to abandon their faith” to believe that the government should not have control over reproductive health decisions.

Military: Most Lethal Force or Peaceful Dove

HARRIS: “There is not one member of the military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world for the first time this century.”

This is a frequent talking point from the administration, and while it’s technically accurate, thousands of U.S. troops remain in dangerous regions, particularly in Iraq and near the Syrian border. In January, U.S. troops stationed at a Jordanian base, which monitors the conflict with ISIS in Syria, lost their lives.

Bonus: Feeding the memes

TRUMP: “Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison!”

This line in reference to Harris has sparked a major reaction online, with thousands posting on X, Instagram, and other media networks about the outlandish claim. Here are some of the best memes from Tuesday’s debate: