At the end of 2017, one year into the Trump presidency, the familiar begins to escape us.
What Donald Trump Says
- A video of Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., during a CNN interview was altered. She did not sing in response to the interviewer’s question. May 23, 2025Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., started singing during a May 20 CNN interview.
- Claims are unfounded that the killing of two Israeli embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., was a false flag. May 23, 2025The slaying of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C., is a false flag.
- Two autopsies ruled George Floyd’s death a homicide, but five years later some powerful figures are still promoting a false narrative about Floyd dying of a drug overdose. Why has misinformation about Floyd persisted? May 23, 2025George Floyd was murdered. Why do some falsely say he ODed?
- Gaza children face dire starvation risk, but a UN leader got the timeline wrong when he said 14,000 babies would die in “the next 48 hours.” The report he referenced projected such severe child malnutrition in the region over 11 months. May 23, 2025Gaza starvation risk dire, but UN official’s number was off
- President Donald Trump said an image he showed South Africa’s president depicted “burial” sites, but the rows of crosses were in memory of two murdered farmers. Some of the video clips of political leaders are years old. May 22, 2025Trump’s South Africa video, images fact-checked
- Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., questioned whether the Trump administration’s changes to U.S. Coast Guard staffing played a role in a Mexican navy ship’s Brooklyn Bridge crash. Former U.S. Coast Guard officers say it’s unlikely. May 22, 2025Did Coast Guard staffing contribute to New York ship crash?
- President Donald Trump said a GOP bill doesn’t change Medicaid and only cuts “waste, fraud and abuse.” The bill seeks to root out ineligible beneficiaries, but it also changes Medicaid to align with Republicans’ ideological views. May 22, 2025In the House bill, “we’re not changing Medicaid,” only cutting “waste, fraud and abuse.”
- Social media posts distort what happened during Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial, and mislead about why former President Barack Obama’s name was mentioned. May 22, 2025The Sean “Diddy” Combs trial testimony revealed that former President Barack Obama was “caught in secret meetings with Diddy’s drug runner.”
- A viral video clip of the Qatari emir saying he regrets inviting Trump to the Middle East isn’t authentic. It’s a deepfake and uses audio generated by artificial intelligence. May 21, 2025Video shows the Qatari emir saying, “I truly regret inviting Trump, the robber, to the Middle East.”
- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill “does not add to the deficit.” Numerous analyses say it will add $3 trillion to $4 trillion over 10 years. May 21, 2025President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill “does not add to the deficit.”
- Economist Robert Reich called one of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s congressional votes into question. Duffy voted against a 2019 bill that included air traffic control modernization funds, but voted in favor of FAA funding in other years. May 21, 2025While serving in Congress, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “voted against upgrading air traffic control systems.”
- Social media posts said former President Joe Biden’s cancer was “turbo cancer” caused by COVID-19 vaccines. There’s no such thing, and there’s no link between the vaccine and cancer. May 20, 2025Former President Joe Biden’s cancer is a form of “turbo cancer” caused by mRNA vaccines.
- President Donald Trump allowed the U.S. resettlement of white Afrikaners from South Africa and said they are targets of genocide. Experts say his rhetoric about genocide is misleading. May 20, 2025Baseless claims about South Africa ‘genocide,’ land seizure
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “gasoline prices have collapsed under President Trump." Although crude oil prices have dropped 17.5% since Trump took office, consumers aren’t seeing that decline at the pump, at least not yet. May 20, 2025“Gasoline prices have collapsed under President Trump."
- Following President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis, X users shared a 2022 video of him saying he had cancer. At the time, Biden’s White House said he was referencing skin cancer that was removed. Here are his 2022 remarks, in context. May 19, 2025In Context: Biden’s 2022 cancer remarks
- When Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was amplifying inaccuracies about measles vaccines, Kennedy said the statements were “all true.” Experts say they’re not. May 16, 2025It’s “all true” that the measles vaccine wanes quickly, was never fully safety tested and contains fetal debris.
- Former FBI Director Jamey Comey is under investigation after posting a photo of seashells spelling out “86 47”. The term comes from the restaurant industry and means to throw out. Is it also an incitement of violence? May 16, 2025Ask PolitiFact: What does '86’ mean? Parsing Comey’s seashells
- Sen. Bernie Sanders said a GOP bill will take away health insurance from 13.7 million Americans. The draft measure would remove health insurance from at least 8.6 million by 2034. Other measures under consideration could drive that number higher. May 16, 2025“Republicans just unveiled their ‘big, beautiful bill,’ which will take Medicaid & health insurance away from 13.7 million Americans.”
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed freezing 2026 adult enrollment in Medicaid for immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Then in 2027, those still on the program would have to pay $100 a month. That’s a change in stance for Newsom. May 16, 2025On California offering affordable health care access for immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
- Asked about declining cargo traffic at U.S. ports, President Donald Trump recently called it “a good thing.” Economists say he’s wrong. May 16, 2025Declining cargo traffic at U.S. ports “means we lose less money. … When you say it's slowed down, that's a good thing.”
