President Donald Trump's 10 biggest falsehoods of 2018
NBC News spent 2018 fact checking Trump's claims on tariffs, immigration, health insurance, taxes, aviation safety, foiled terrorists, jobs, and more.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Donald Trump misled the American public repeatedly in 2018.
He championed victories that never happened and complained of challenges that don’t exist, while repeating some of the same false claims dozens and dozens of times — on the campaign trail, at the White House, and on Twitter.
This year alone, we’ve fact checked claims on tariffs, immigration law, health insurance, veterans health care, tax reform, aviation safety, automotive safety tests (and whether they involve bowling balls), border fencing, foiled terrorists, job creation, among many others. He's said, inexplicably, that people need a photo ID to buy groceries and cereal.
But certain falsehoods stood out amid the rest: sweeping claims that defined political conversations and, despite the work of fact checkers, kept coming up.
These are the president's top 10 whoppers of 2018.
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The wall that Trump claimed would be made of concrete and would be paid for by Mexico.
Here's the prototypes Trump hyped and WE paid for.
Here's what Trump is tweeting and building now.
Yet he and his sycophants will claim that it's a promise kept.
I like the one in the bottom row, second from the right. It looks like an afro pick.
Now that you mention it, the one next to it looks like a flea comb.
I really like that one!
So, he has to keep 100% of his original proposals? You do realize they came up with the steel slat barrier after testing multiple designs to see which would be hardest for people to climb over and would be best in the terrain along the border, correct? Grappling hooks won't work against the steel slat, since there is nothing there to hook on. A lasso will just slide down, and the area between isn't large enough for a person to squeeze through. Steel is also hard to bend, without a lot of heat or horsepower. Plus, explosives wouldn't work too well against them. On top of all that is that all you have to do to put them into the ground is dig a hole as deep as you want, with maybe a concrete footing to keep them in place, which won't really disturb the surrounding countryside too much either.
I see that picture of the steel slat barrier, and yes, great design versus a "grappling hook". Just curious though, how does it defend against a ladder? Or is ladder technology too knew to figure out whether a ladder might be able to be made tall enough to get over the fence...
This raises a good question for all those who worship Trump. Much like the "Can God make a rock so heavy even he couldn't lift it?", "Is Trump magical enough to build a wall a ladder can't breach?".
Only 2 of his 'original proposals' met CBP specs, but Trump wanted them built ANYWAY.
What they are building IS being climbed with simple tools, right now.
Tie a rope between your feet and another rope in your hands and scoot yourself up the pole using the tension of the rope for purchase, slide down the other side. My uncles learned that method to climb Coconut palms as kids.
None of that matters when you can climb it in 5 minutes.
BTW, they can dig tunnels from buildings, under roads and under the border, into another building. Where there is a profit, there's a way.
As for 'disturbing the surrounding countryside' we're looking at a minimum 50' right of way, in most areas, 100'. In rough math, that's about 7,000 acres excavated JUST for the 550 miles Trump is talking about.
BTW, there are quite a few Texas ranchers that are NIMBY on the wall.
I'm waiting for the wall design that will split the Rio Grande River down the center for untold miles...
It should be a beauty./s
that'll be the stainless steel section
Actually, we're building well within the border, sometimes WAY inside the border. We're creating a 'no man's land' on the other side. I'm sure that property owners appreciate the surveyors shooting a line right through their property. Maybe Trump will design 'big beautiful gates [with TRUMP in steel block letters]' so property owners can access the rest of their land. Of course there would be a small 'donation' for installation and the monthly ADT security alarm charge.
Here is a link to that situation...(Texas Ranchers)
Have you ever heard of a fiberglass or rope ladder?
YouTube has heard abiout that possibility because there is a video how to make one.
I have heard of them, my point is about how they are going to be attached so people can climb up them? There are only a couple ways to anchor a rope or fiberglass ladder so they can be climbed. So, how do you propose to anchor them at the top of the slats?
You need to investigate how roofers, siders, and gutter installers anchor ladders to a house in similar situations. They make a fiberglass attachment just for that job. A $5.00 piece of plywood always works in a pinch.
It's a variation on this theme.
They don't need no stinkin' ladders!
I have a slingshot that's used to shoot ropes over tree limbs so a climber can trim the tree. Ever heard of paracord? It's nice and light and it's tough as hell. Attach a beanbag and it can be used just as easily to shoot a rope over the pickets. You know they have cross beams right? Over the crossbeam, back down the other side, swing it back through the pickets, attach a climbing rope, pull it over, tie it off and BAM you've got a secured climbing rope. A couple of carabiners and you're up and over...
You should watch more adventure movies...
What if the crossbeam is 10' to 15' down from the top? The other thing is what comes with the wall, infrastructure, you know a road and power, a road provides quick access for border patrol and power gives the border patrol remote eyes and ears.
A boom truck could life 20 people standing on a pallet over the wall in the time it takes to set the outriggers. They'd be in-and-out in under 15 minutes.
Depends on which side of the wall the truck is on, US side you just lost your expensive truck to the border patrol, on the Mexican side your still on US soil, so you lost your truck again unless you can make a quick getaway without a road or worse across the Rio Grande. Besides that just place obstacles in a staggered manner to keep a truck like that 50' from the wall and you have decreased it's capacity down to maybe one or two at a time.
Hilarious. So now not only do we have to build a wall but staggered barricades preventing any vehicle from getting within 50' of the wall?
It doesn't take a boom truck or any large commercial vehicle, a pickup truck with a couple rigged together extension ladders would easily do the trick. The guy who washes the windows on the four story building nearby backs his truck up with a ladder secured in the bed that he climbs up to do the top three floors exterior windows, he's up easily 35 to 40 feet, going another 10 feet wouldn't be a problem at all. Face it, just like there is no such thing as "clean coal", there's no such thing as an unbreachable wall. The walls suggested so far have all been outwitted within four hours or less. The reality is even when notified of an attempted breach, it can take border control days to get to the location of the breach, they're just spread too thin, adding more border wall won't do anything to stop that.
What Democrats want is SMART EFFECTIVE border security and an electronic wall would be far more effective at 100th the cost. A border wall is pure security theatre, just like TSA pat downs that don't actually make you any safer when getting on an airplane, they just make some people "feel" safer. The inspections showed TSA agents missed 95% of the inspectors weapons brought on planes when testing the security.
The wall is just the same. It doesn't do anything to stop the 70% of illegal immigrants who get here by overstaying their visas. It can be breached in under four hours, would cost upwards of $20 billion, would require the frequent use of eminent domain and wouldn't actually keep us substantially safer.
Or they get a longer boom..........
The wall is an expensive debacle that appeals to xenophobic emotions and not the facts of the situation.
Why do you need a wall when you admit that you already have a +100' wide river?
There are multiple crossbeams, one about 2' from the top.
So with all of those bells and whistles, who needs a wall?
Seriously, there is NOTHING stopping them from building scaffolding on the Mexican side with a handy dandy staircase...
Longer boom means the loss of a more expensive truck. I didn't realize the Rio Grande went all the way to the Pacific.
Good thing you found a design flaw, now they can redesign the wall by lowering the top cross beam.
What several of the comments admit is it will take time to thwart the wall and with the electronic bells and whistles the border patrol has a much improved chance of catching or stopping illegal entry and therefore less alluring to those wishing to entering illegally, so a win win.
How is border patrol going to get the truck, when they are on the other side of the wall? Is there a nearby gate?
How will they lose the truck crane if it is on the Mexican side of the wall?
There is already border fence built across most of New Mexico and Arizona.
Most of the people come across at border entry points and overstay their visa, which the wall won't stop from continuing.
So we don't try to stop any of them?
If its anywhere along the river then it is on US soil, because the wall won't be built down the center of the river. Thanks for the info from USA today that shows a truck crane can't even get to the fence from the Mexican side in many places.
As for overstaying ones visa, I guess we need to stop issuing them to legal immigrants, that is what you're suggesting right?
What makes you think that the crane would be on US soil?
That would include tourists, business travel and education visas, plus work visas. I doubt that you want to cross that line. What is your problem with immigrants? What are you afraid of happening?
Most people come across at road border crossings or they fly into the country. Do you want to close those as well?
Well duh, they fear the "browning" of America, where "white culture" is no longer the default. It has nothing to do with the financial aspect, immigrants actually generate jobs and boost the economy. It has nothing to do with crime, immigrants are less likely to commit violent crimes than natural born citizens. It has nothing to do with supposed "overcrowding" or not enough resources, there's plenty of space, in fact some towns are trying to lure residents to their towns because they're under-populated and risk becoming just another mid-west ghost town. Immigrants see the seemingly evacuated rust belt that was abandoned by manufacturing and the auto industry as an opportunity, not just the vacant blight they had become.
"There isn't a single great American city that has rebounded in population growth without immigrants," Tobocman said. Immigrants who become homeowners bring in tax revenue, fix up abandoned homes and encourage economic growth."
But even with all the benefits of immigration to our nation, there are some poorly educated who lack any real world experience who believe we don't have enough room, enough resources or enough jobs for any more people. They likely base this conclusion on their own miserable failings at attaining sustainable work and have become embittered at themselves having to rely on government entitlements. In their minds, they've told themselves it's not their fault but all the immigrants, all the illegals, all the "others" that don't look like them or worship like they do. And sadly, Trump picked up this message they had been telling themselves and reinforced it. He inferred that most Mexicans were rapists and drug dealers, "some I'm sure are good people". To Trumps base that reinforced their belief that 99 out of 100 Mexicans are drug dealers or rapists while 1 out of 100 is a good person, completely the reverse of reality.
So really, it's not so much what they "fear happening" as it is what they already blame immigrants for, namely, every one of their individual problems because they prefer to believe it's not their fault. "It's immigrants! It's liberals! It's the Deep State! It's Obummer! It's Hil'liar'ry! It's Benghazi! It's private email server! It's NAFTA! etc..." anything but self reflection and personal responsibility. They claim to be the party of personal responsibility but they are anything but. They are the party of "If at first you don't succeed, cry, cry again, then blame it on someone else". They are the party of "the immigrant sun was in my eyes!".
Ladders do not need to be attached. Ladder is leaned upon wall, house, building, etc
gravity forces it to stay there, unless your dancing on it, it will stay there, but , i can dance and do a triple lindy off my ladders. I used to also own two gutter machines. For siding and gutters, scaffolding is usually required. Aluminum pump jacks with aluminum picks ( long metal planks ) make for a safe work area.
I used to own a Contracting company, it would be NO feat what so ever to scale this "glorified fence "
Then you know that you'd need probably 40 feet of ladder - like this one - to get over a 30 foot wall.
You probably also know that a ladder like this weighs about 90lbs.
You'll be carrying this ladder across many miles of open desert. That sounds like a fun day. Hopefully you have strong friends. Also, you'll probably want two of them unless you want to jump 30 feet down from the top to the other side. These ladders also costs about $700 each.
Then, they can mount sensors and cameras on these walls, so they know when you're trying to scale them. All of this makes it a lot easier to catch people in the attempt, which is the point. We're not trying to make an impassable barrier, just one that's really hard to get over without being caught.
First, you're right about ladders if you want to operate them safely. Unfortunately, safety doesn't seem to be much concern for people trying to breach a border wall.
"You'll be carrying this ladder across many miles of open desert."
Many get very close to the border crossing using vehicles. You do know that they have cars and trucks in Mexico, right?
"Also, you'll probably want two of them unless you want to jump 30 feet down from the top to the other side."
Or you could bring an inexpensive rope, or hadn't that occurred to you?
"These ladders also costs about $700 each."
Nothing a couple $70 16' Ace Hardware aluminum extension ladders and a roll of duct tape couldn't fix.
"Then, they can mount sensors and cameras on these walls, so they know when you're trying to scale them."
Ah, so who's going to pay for that addition? A thousand miles of wall ladder sensors can't be cheap. And even if there is a sensor, currently even when notified of attempted border crossings it can take border control several hours to several days to respond to the area. So on top of a thousand miles of "wall sensor" you'd have to have border security posted every hundred miles so that they can respond in a timely fashion, otherwise the sensor is pointless.
"All of this makes it a lot easier to catch people in the attempt, which is the point."
Nope, not really, as I just pointed out.
"We're not trying to make an impassable barrier, just one that's really hard to get over without being caught"
No barrier is impassible so that goes without saying. The fence we already have is as much of a physical barrier to prevent easy border crossings but is also cheap enough to make it financially viable for the protection it provides. A border wall as describes by most Trump supporters would cost 100 times more than a fence but only provide an extra hour or two of time to prevent any single breach. And that extra hour or two isn't enough time to make it worth spending $20 billion of our tax dollars on a physical barrier that will just barely delay illegal border crossings. Besides, 70% of illegal immigrants in the US today got here by overstaying their visa, a wall would do nothing to stop that.
i could easily scale it with one of my four 36' footers, as i'm not worried about OSHA and a cheaper lower class rating one, constructed of aluminum, does not weigh 90#s.
You can pick up a used cheaper model as described, for a $100 bucks or so.
you could use a rope ladder carried up with you for the decent.
You could use a dead tree to get it across a section of river near wall
I've said this for years. Trump's conservative base need someone to blame for their failures and now its the turn of immigrants to be their scapegoat.
You need the standoffs at the top of the ladders so the ladder doesn't crush the gutters if you plan to get high enough to work on the eaves or gutters.
correct, if you have a cheap Home Depot Grade gutter, probably .027 or less, as the weight of said ladder, and ones body, would dent or crush gutter you were working on.( I only carried .032 gauge coils in my machines, and could spit out any length of one piece 5" or 6" K style gutter desired. The longest one piece we ever did hang, was 220', though i did have a contract with Home Properties, owner of over one hundred complexes, where it required 5300 feet of gutters) Often, ladders would be set leaning against dwelling walls, on vinyl siding, brick, or other masonry, while using ladder mitts so as to protect facade. You would then place ladder jacks on desired three rung height, and then set picks, (aluminum planks, 12"--24" wide x 16'-28' long) on jacks, and you had a work platform. Not for those intimidated by heights, and you had to have the strength to hoist a 28' pick possibly 2 stories or better in the air, with one person on each end, walking it up the ladders in concert.
There is always a boogie man around the corner.
I think some run on fear.
Its a well understood psychological fact that conservative brains operate on fear. The next question is why does it happen and how can it be treated?
Another thing most pro-wall [ deleted ] haven't ever thought about is the cost of maintaining a wall along the border. Already it's proven far more expensive than expected to build and maintain the 700 miles of fencing we have.
"The U.S. government would have to pay to maintain the wall, which could cost as much as $750 million a year, according to an analysis conducted by Politico. And then if it wanted to man it with personnel, that would be an additional cost — border patrol has an operating budget of $1.4 billion for 21,000 agents."
And the reality is there's no reason to build a wall in the areas not already identified as high traffic areas.
"Border walls work in densely populated areas — such as Israel's wall in the West Bank — where slowing down a person trying to illegally enter by five or 10 minutes can make a difference to border patrol. But when the migrant trying to enter is traveling over remote mountains and deserts for three days, using a fence to slow them down by a few minutes doesn't have the same effect — it borders on the trivial, Rosenblum said.
"There is a reason people don't build fences in the middle of nowhere; it doesn't change the enforcement profile in the middle of nowhere," the migration expert said. "The existing fence has worked because of where it is, near populated areas. Both Democrats and Republicans have testified that they have the fencing they need," Rosenblum said."
"It's not necessary to have a pedestrian fence in places where the infrastructure doesn't support people walking toward the border," Ronald Vitiello, deputy chief of border patrol for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in his May Senate testimony.
So it's not effective, it's inefficient, and then even after spending the $20 billion+ to build it we'd have to come up with another $2.5 billion a year in perpetuity to man, maintain and repair it.
It's been happening for a long time, maybe it's genetic.
"Injuns! Ahhhh!"
"Red Coats! Ahhhh!"
"Union soldiers! Ahhhh!"
"Free blacks! Ahhhh!"
"Women voting! Ahhhhhh!"
"Interracial marriage! Ahhhhh!"
"Gay marriage! Ahhhhh!"
"Liberals! Ahhhhh!"
As for treatment, the only thing that has ever worked is to remove them from their safe spaces, get them out into the world, expose them to reality, higher education and introduce them to women, minorities and immigrants who are doctors, firemen, policemen, soldiers and community leaders.
Some psychologists use VR to help those with phobia's get over their fears. Maybe conservatives need to attend a few liberal parties in VR mode so they can get used to them.
Tell me about it! This is why the second story doesn't get Christmas lights anymore. I can't take the stress. It doesn't help that the gutters are three or four feet from the wall and my driveway isn't exactly level. I like lights, but they aren't worth dying for.
How about that ( Beautiful, inexpensive, envy of the World ) health care plan he touted to the red hat throngs as they were screaming, 'Lock Her Up'?
Ain't heard nothin' about that. Well?
100% of his promises? Deripaska made out. Did we?
How about that tax cut for the middle class?
Tax cuts were a hell of a lot more than the 2,500 some PoS said you would save on your health insurance.
But in all fairness it helps if you work to get a tax cut.
I'm enjoying mine?
Haha. No matter what he says, some supporters will cheer like it is gospel.
Fact checking has become a journalism nightmare. Half the time, they're checking someone's opinion, not a fact. Example:
This is his opinion and he's entitled to it. It's also one shared by a lot of people. The fact-checking does nothing to disprove it because it really can't. The fact that people have been charged with crimes doesn't keep it from being a witch hunt.
When they are checking a fact, they fudge as much as any politician. Example:
Ok, so they just moved the goalpost, as the kids say. Trump didn't say it was "widespread." He just said it happened. And that's true. They even admit it.
Yeah, that's still separating children from parents. Trump did more of it, but that doesn't change the fact that he was right and the fact-checkers didn't analyze exactly what he said. This business of things being partly true or misleading is the same kind of BS we get from politicians.
And they deflect. Example:
a promise to build a big, beautiful cement wall — not a fence
What the hell difference does that make? The point is to block people from entering easily. Anyone with any sense understands this. If you're trying to keep people off your property, does it really matter if you're building a wall or a fence? Concrete or some other material? If this is the #1 thing you're citing to claim Trump is a liar, this is pretty weak sauce. I think Trump can be plenty full of it, but this is a terrible example.
Again, so what? He wasn't elected because he promised a wall while his opponent promised a fence. He was elected because he was going to do something to stop people just strolling into the country and no one else was promising anything like that. If Barack Obama had an idea and then modified it to achieve the same goal, (Obamacare is just such an example) the media would (and did) applaud him for it.
the issue is Trump is using deflection techniques to say to his his base, hey look over there, don't be mad at me. While journalists are using common sense and determining that the distance between what is actually happening and what Trump is alluding to is so far from each other it is misleading people and harmful to everyone.
1. People actually being charged and convicted of real crimes is exactly what makes it NOT a witch hunt, his opinion is that of an imbecile and should be pointed out as being such
2. separating children to ensure they are not part of a human trafficking ring and then placing them back with their parents in a quick fashion is not even comparable to the horror that is happening today under Trump, trying to deflect the issue is ridiculous.
3. Building a useless wall that MEXICO was supposed to pay for and then saying, yea well its a wall its, a fence, its whatever you want to call it, and Americans are going to pay for it, is a big FU you to anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together, there is a difference and NO I am not going to pay for it. There is already hundreds of miles of wall that only A. Slow them down, B. Force them downstream, C. Force them to dig under D. Climb. Another 500 miles is going to do ZIP except waste Billions of dollars we need to pay off the damn debt so we actually have a country left come 2026.
Morons that fall for the garbage that spews out of Trumps mouth and twist it to conform to their own fantasy world just pisses me off.
F Trump and all the dumbasses that think he is actually worthy to be President....Sheep.
criminal is criminal, trying to spin it to fit in some screwed up logical fallacy does no one any good.
Have your parents not ever told you that the company you keep is a reflection upon yourself. Trump is criminal, may not be ties to Russia criminal but the man is 50 shades corrupt.
I would hope people would have the common decency to step back and go, you know i understand that Trump may not have perpetrated this whole Russia thing but damn this man on whole is a real shit bag and I should stop wasting my efforts defending him. If not then your just as big a shit bag as he is. (the general "Your", not directed at anyone in particular.....except maybe C4P..j/k)
But not Trump. And in the cases of Americans charged, not the things they were supposed to be looking for. And all the talk is about Trump, not what others have done. It looks very political. That makes it a witch hunt.
The horror is the natural result of Trump trying to enforce the law as much as he can. That's sort of his job and it's a big reason he was elected.
There is no grounds for calling it useless and ample evidence that the wall is useful. When they built the triple fence in San Diego, illegal crossings in that area decreased by 90%. A good barrier is extremely useful.
Anyone with two brain cells to rub together understood from the outset that it was unlikely Mexico would willingly pay for a wall. Trump was elected because it was clear that he wanted to build some kind of effective barrier somehow. People are not as stupid as you imagine.
making them easier to catch
which is why you build more wall. And if you can deflect them into a more limited area, Border Patrol knows where to be waiting for them.
The new wall goes very deep and (allegedly) has some kind of anti-dig technology, including sensors. Most people walking over the border don't have access to the equipment they would need to go under. And no, a shovel won't do it.
Kind of hard to walk through the desert with ladders long enough to go over a 30-foot wall. Very heavy and unwieldy.
Walls, fences, or whatever work, or they wouldn't be around private as well as public property.
There are 0 miles of actual wall. Just because it's tall, doesn't change the FACT that it's a picket FENCE!
Yea, lying to the FBI? Jaywalking, MUCH more of a crime than that...
/s
I say the current wall Trump is requesting is useless at this point because
A. We already have barriers on i think i read 700 miles of border which cover the easiest crossing lanes.
B. the 500 miles Trump wants will cost way more than 5 Billion not only to build but to maintain.
C. The ROI has not been clearly articulated by anyone, i.e. i spend 5B this year on a wall how much will i save every year after and where will those saving come from and what can i do with those savings, therefore it is just throwing bad money after bad
D. America cannot afford it, we need every dime we can muster to pay down the 20+ Trillion dollar debt we have, it is time people realized that come 2024-2026 we will be bankrupt as a nation unless something changes and it changes fast, And no, throwing American citizens starving into the streets by reducing benefits for the poor and elderly is not the answer.
Walls around private property does not work, it is a false sense of security, and a deterrent to those that may want to walk across your property to get somewhere else easier, but they don't really care. If a bad guy really wanted on your property to do you harm a wall would not stop him. I have a 6' privacy fence around my property, while most kids walk around to get to the high school, i still have at least 4 every morning and afternoon that jump it to cut across my property to get home faster.
So you are admitting that Trump is lacking even 2 brain cells?
most ridiculous comment ever.
Really? Why don't you post some links to prove that Trump has built a WALL on the southern border.
Does this look like a WALL to you?
dude, what are you rambling about, I nor you mentioned Trump in the previous comments. I said there are hundreds of miles of wall already in existence, you said lie there are 0 miles of wall., i said LOL, HAHA, HAHA. Now you ask for proof Trump built a wall??
First of all, there is only ONE dude and I ain't him.
Secondly, 2 sentences do not a ramble make.
Oh my bad, I presumed that you got the BS about the Wall from Trump. So which orifice DID you pull it out of?
There are ZERO miles of wall already built.
How about you prove that ANY WALL has been built. I'll wait...
“For somebody who lives in San Diego, we understand we already have a wall,” said Alejandra Castañeda , a Clairemont resident who researches immigration at Tijuana’s El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. “Not only one wall, but a triple wall in some areas.”
Border Patrol officials announced earlier this week that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was coming to Santa Teresa on Thursday to “visit the new border wall construction efforts, receive an operational briefing on the wall’s construction and meet with local sheriffs.” The visit was later canceled without explanation. Hull used the word “wall” more than 30 times during the groundbreaking ceremony. He twice referred to the planned structure as a fence, only to quickly correct himself.
Education is good, using semantics to try a win a losing position deserves my ridicule.
Finally something that we can both agree on, although I fail to see how that addresses my comment.
Insisting that the meaning of the words we use to have a discussion in this venue deserves mine.
BTW, you quoted a copyrighted article without siting a link, a violation of the COC. I think that the rest of the content of the article makes it clear why you failed to post the link.
I will post the link to mitigate that issue and to use it to prove that semantics matter. I find it hilarious that you quoted an article that provides me with a tool that proves my point so well:
BTW, your article doesn't give one iota of evidence that even one mile of WALL has been built, it does however support my posit that Trump and his minions are insulting the intelligence of Americans.
Actually NEITHER one of your articles argues that hundreds of miles of WALL already exits.
You said:
Then posted two quotes that called it a WALL. Yet BOTH of your linked articles show photos, every one of which show a FENCE, and even the captions call it a FENCE.
Your first quote is from a Jan. 2017 article. Since then Trump has claimed that a lot of the WALL has been built. That is a LIE. Not one mile of WALL has been built. Trump, and you it seems, insist that it exists. IT DOES NOT.
Trump needs to STOP insulting our intelligence and his sycophants would do well to stop it too.
I feel like your arguing for arguing's sake.
Your reply does NOT address the topic. You're replying for the sake of replying.
So,what you're saying there is you don't give a shit how much he lies.
Nope. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the self-proclaimed fact checkers do not always do what they purport to do, i.e. "check facts". I am also saying that not every so-called lie is, in fact, a lie. Sometimes it's just a difference of opinion.
Kellyanne Conway, is that you?
Not that you will actually look at either of these link because they will blow holes in your narrative.
But lets start with 94 flat out lies....so I want you to tell me which ones aren't lies?
Gomer Pyle, is that you?
That's a pure rightwing gem, there, Wally. It says everything about that cult's way of "thinking."
In a butter face kinda way
That's just another way to say you refuse to accept the rock-solid evidence that Scumbag lies and then lies and then lies.
Trump has attempted at every turn to cause ACTION based on what you call an opinion. In FACT, Nunes and the neo-nationalists on the House Intelligence Committee took many ACTIONS to bolster Trump's claims.
Actually, Trump said they 'all had the same policy'.
It wasn't the 'same policy'. That is a LIE. The way that Trump did it 'differently' was to impose a 'zero tolerance' policy and to criminalize asylum seekers. All without any PLAN to humanly handle the volume of people taken into CUSTODY because of their policy changes.
Ya, Trump 'softened the law'. What a load of crap.
So your posit is that 'a hand full'... because of fears of human trafficking' is the 'same policy' as taking almost EVERY family seeking asylum into custody and separating ALL of the families, numbering into the THOUSANDS this year alone. WOW!
You should know the answer to that. Why did you vote for a guy who pounded his chest about his building skills and spewed that bullshit about a 30' cement wall when a fence would do the job?
YES IT DOES. Cost, utility and terrain are ALWAYS relevant when deciding what kind of barrier one installs on their property. Considering the FACT that the CBP union supported Trump, one would think that they would have had some Diet Coke together figured out the specs for the barrier. Perhaps then, Trump could have started hedging on his cement wall long ago and we could have saved some money on having utterly USELESS prototypes built.
BTFW, it took Trump almost 2 YEARS to say fence instead of wall. We are building FENCE, NOT WALL.
Nope, NOT 'something'. 1.3 million is doing 'something'. The fencing already planned was doing 'something'.
Trump promised to build a WALL and that Mexico would pay for it. The whole freak out from neo-nationalist pundits was about getting funding to build a WALL or shutting down the government.
Well, that's what people do. Welcome to the world, ya know?
Really it's a lie that separation has anything to do with policy. It's about a law that says you can't detain kids with adults. Therefore, if you are going to detain adults, you're sort of forced to separated them from the kids. So what becomes policy is how much you're willing to enforce the law. Trump wanted to go zero tolerance, which is how Border Patrol was forced to separate so many families. There wasn't some policy that said "let's try to separate kids from their parents."
Because I wasn't so inflexible of mind as to think that there was a meaningful difference between the words "wall" and "fence." I knew Trump wanted to build the barrier Congress set out to build a dozen years ago but never finished - and expand on it as well.
Fence/wall makes no difference to me and I refuse to believe it genuinely makes a difference to you or any Democrat. Here's why: I have never once heard a single person say anything like "I like what Trump is trying to do, i.e. secure the border, and I would support a good strong, tall fence, but I don't like the idea of a wall." This was said by literally no one.
Yes, it was, absolutely. But it some places, it's pretty lame and in other places, we could use more. The Border Patrol wants more. Why not give it to them? Why not let the experts tell us what they need?
Full interview: Trump's new border patrol chief Carla Provost talks support for wall
Wall talk starts at 3:28.
Family separation stuff at about 5:37.
Really? What law says that Tacos!?
It sure as fuck sounds like that little boy and girl who died in custody were being detained with their parents Tacos!. Were they breaking the law detaining them together. I guess those two Family Detention Centers in Texas are illusions.
YES IT WAS. Trump, Sessions, Neilson ALL admitted that the REASON for the 'zero tolerance' policy was to 'deter' people from seeking asylum.
"If people don't want to be separated from their children, they should not bring them with them," Sessions said.
Bullshit. The 'good strong, tall fence' that EXISTED on Jan, 20, 2016 was funded with Democratic support.
FAIL!
Every agency wants MORE and every one of them has to learn to live with disappointment. We make decisions about cost-benefit ratio all the time.
8 CFR 242.24(d)
Only the adults are being criminally prosecuted. We don't generally put kids in jail with adults.
While the adults are being held pending a hearing, the kids are "unaccompanied minors" and are detained for their own protection unless they can be released to adult family members. The only problem is that their adult family members are in jail.
So you can enforce the law or keep families together, but you can't do both.
You have to actually weigh costs and benefits if you are making a fair decision. The Chief of Border patrol says we need more wall but apparently you know better than her as to what we need, and also assume she has no understanding of the costs involved.
Your reference it out of date and NOT applicable to asylum seekers.
The question is WHY are adults being criminally prosecuted?
It is NOT against the law to request asylum and you may request asylum regardless of you immigration status. Those are FACTS.
Children ARE being prosecuted as 'illegal' immigrants by the THOUSANDS.
Both WERE being done simultaneously before 2017. Haven't you heard that Trump is dumping these families at Greyhound stations in Texas and churches in Arizona? BTFW, those families WERE being held in detention TOGETHER. So were Bush and Obama violating the law THEN and is Trump violating the law NOW?
You must mean the 'acting' Chief and if she is saying we need 'more wall' she is utterly clueless since you can't have MORE of something that DOES NOT EXIST.
We used to own a piece of land in rural Pa. The majority of people coming on to the property illegally were not overstaying visas I had granted. They were not being smuggled on by professional criminals, they hadn’t built super fast boats or submarines. I don’t believe there were any tunnels. Illegal immigration is not a problem solved by wasting money on walls and “anyone with any sense understands this.” The reason Trump promised a wall during his campaign was because his simple supporters understand how walls work. This is a stupid reason to waste money better spent elsewhere.
We have about 18,000 miles of border/coastline, only 2,000 of it with Mexico. Putting a better wall in some places will just shift the traffic elsewhere. There are technologies (ropes, ladders, shovels, going around, ...) that can easily defeat walls.
Perhaps a proposal of real solutions is appropriate rather than this puerile fixation.
So are you advocating tearing down all the wall/fencing that we have already?
That really depends on the wall, doesn't it?
Of course not. Republicans have controlled the House, Senate, and Presidency for 2 years, if more walls were a reasonable solution, they would have funded them. About $650B of our current deficit is caused by the GWB & Trump tax cuts, so it's not like Republicans are adverse to wasting money. Apparently wasting money on more walls is too stupid even for Republicans pols.
if only things were that simple...
the gop also has globalist pricks who do not want secure borders.
call them what ya will... neo-cons, RHINO's, or traitorous scumbags.
Of course you know that the house Republican's did pass a $5billion funding bill for the wall in the house and the. Republicans in the senate voted for the funding in the Senate but it didn't pass because Senate rules say that it needs 60 votes to pass and the dems Are needed to pass it
Of course YOU know that the Senate passed a CR UNANIMOUSLY and that Ryan was too cowardly to bring it to a vote on the floor even though it was guaranteed to pass with Democratic votes right?
The CR that did not have funding for the border security that the president said he would not sign?
You must be in the minority that still believes a fucking word Trump says.
Mitch McConnell FINALLY knows better now that Trump reneged on his agreement. That's why they announced that NO bill would be voted on until all of the leadership AND Trump PUBLICLY agreed on it.
BTFW, the House passed a CR that the Senate said they would never pass...
No one controls the Senate unless they have 60 votes. Failure to understand that means criticism of not funding the wall already is rooted in ignorance. If you do understand that it takes 60 votes to control the Senate, then such criticism cannot be honest.
Your comment illustrates a failure to understand that the Senate IS controlled by the MAJORITY LEADER. Only 1 of those 60 Senators controls the Senate floor, only 1 can 'fill the tree'. THAT is how the Senate is 'controlled'.
Add that to the FACT that the Majority Leader assigns Committee Chairman and the majority gets MORE voting members on those committees. That too is how the Senate is 'controlled'.
To be clear, 2018 hasn't ended yet so he could easily come up with much bigger lies over the next 4 days. The one he told the troops in Iraq about single-handedly raising their pay 10% must already have bumped some other lie out of the top ten.
He's learned that if he keeps telling more lies, no one can pin him down on any one lie, so he just keeps lying and denying. He knows that eventually most people will just give up caring because nothing is ever done to hold him to account.
One way to disarm ones opponent.
Baffle them with bullshit.
And.....the more his base (what a perfect name for them) loves it.
That's depressing.......
no one lies better than Trump
Note not A LIE
I don't know if I'd agree they are "better" though they are definitely more often than anyone else. The lies themselves are really rather poor lies, easily refutable stuff, things most high school graduates already know aren't true. So in that regard, no one lies worse than Trump either.
youre making me out a liar ?
.
but, ill agree, i chose an inartful way of confessing my true thoughts....hey
waita minute,
that's howli always do it
Actually he is a very poor liar. No one lies more than Trump would be a much more correct statement.
in agreement
If Trump is so convinced that his bs wall is the end all solution to illegal immigration, I say build it. But remove all border personnel and see how fast the wall does not live up to his hype.
The Democrats "WALL" construction idea !