Trump, Republicans, Allies and the Vice Presidential Debate

​PENCE: “This is a very challenging time in the life of our nation. Weakened America's place in the world after the leadership of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on the world stage has been followed by an economy that is truly struggling, stifled by an avalanche of more taxes, more regulations, Obamacare, the war on coal and the kind of trade deals that have put American workers in the back seat. I think the best way we can bring people together is through change in Washington, DC. You know, I served in Washington DC for twelve years in the Congress of the United States, and I served with many Republicans and Democrats, men and women of good will. The potential is there to really change the direction of this country, but it's going to take leadership to do it. The American people want to see our nation standing tall on the world stage again. They want to see us supporting our military, rebuilding our military, commanding the respect of the world and they want to see the American economy off to the races again. They want to see an American comeback, and Donald Trump's entire career has been about building. It's been about -- it's going through hardship just like a business person does, and finding a way through smarts and ingenuity and reliance to fight forward. And when Donald Trump becomes President of the United States, we’re going to have a stronger America. When you hear him say he wants to Make America Great Again, when we do that I truly do believe the American people are going to be standing taller, they're going to see real change can happen after decades of just talking about it. And when that happens, the American people are going to stand tall, stand together and we'll have the kind of unity that's been missing for way too long.”

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Oct. 4, 2016 11:10 p.m.

KAINE’S TOP 5 LIES OF THE NIGHT

LIE #1: KAINE OVER EXAGGERATED THE ROLE THE NEW START TREATY PLAYED IN LIMITING RUSSIA’S NUCLEAR WEAPON STOCKPILES

Kaine Asserted That Russia Was Extending Its Weapons Stockpile In The Debate Until Clinton Worked Out A Deal With Them. SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): “Let me tell you Governor Pence, Do you know that when Osama bin Laden was alive? Do you know that we had one hundred seventy five thousand troops deployed in the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan? Do know that Iran was racing toward a nuclear weapon and Russia was extending its stockpile? Under Secretary Clinton's leadership public safety team when after and revived the hunt against Bin Laden and wipe them off the face of the earth. She worked a deal with the Russians to use their chemical weapons stockpile. She worked a tough negotiation with nations around the world to eliminate the Iranian nuclear weapons program without firing a shot.”(Sen. Tim Kaine, Vice Presidential Debate, Longwood University, Farmville, VA, 10/4/16)


The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler Asserted That “Kaine Surely Meant To Say Nuclear Weapons” During The Debate, But Even So “Overstated The Impact Of The 2011 New START” Which Clinton Helped Negotiate. “Kaine surely meant to say nuclear weapons, but it came out as chemical weapons. Even so, Kaine overstates the impact of the 2011 New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) agreement, which Clinton helped negotiate as Secretary of State.” (Glenn Kessler, “FactCheck: Tim Kaine On Clinton’s Nuclear Agreement,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

While New START Placed Stricter Limits On Deployed Strategic Weapons, But Does Not Place Limits On The Stockpiles Of Either Country. “New START placed tighter limits on deployed strategic weapons, but Russia for the most part was already meeting those targets when the treaty began to be implemented. The treaty does not restrict either country from stockpiling weapons, nor does it require them to destroy any existing weapons.” (Glenn Kessler, “FactCheck: Tim Kaine On Clinton’s Nuclear Agreement,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

The Washington Post Fact Checker Gave Kaine “Two Pinocchios” For Making A Similar Claim

The Washington Post Fact Checked Kaine And Clinton On Their Claims That The New START Treaty Reduced Russia’s Nuclear Weapons Stockpiles. “Nuclear arms is a highly technical area, and we understand the temptation for politicians to want to use easy-to-understand shorthand. New START placed a cap on deployed strategic weapons, but Russia for the most part was already meeting those targets when the treaty began to be implemented. The treaty does not restrict either country from stockpiling weapons, so Clinton and Kaine go too far to say that stockpiles have been reduced or that Russian nuclear weapons have been cut. In fact, at the moment deployed Russian warheads are climbing.” (Glenn Kessler, “Clinton, Kaine Go Too Far In Touting A Nuclear Deal With Russia,” The Washington Post¸10/4/16)

Kaine And Clinton Earned “Two Pinocchios” For Their Exaggerated Claims. “We wavered between One and Two Pinocchios, but in the end leaned toward Two. Clinton and Kaine need to make clearer they are talking about deployed nuclear weapons — and that future growth is capped. A few words can make a difference in being absolutely accurate.”(Glenn Kessler, “Clinton, Kaine Go Too Far In Touting A Nuclear Deal With Russia,” The Washington Post¸10/4/16)

LIE #2: KAINE REPEATED THE FALSE ASSERTION THAT OBAMA’S ECONOMY HAS CREATED 15 MILLION JOBS IN TONIGHT’S DEBATE

Kaine Interrupted Governor Pence To Twice Claim The False Assertion That Obama’s Economy Has Created 15 Million Jobs. GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN): “Well, first, let me say, I appreciated the you're hired/you're fired thing. Senator, you used that a whole lot. I think your running mate used a lot of pre-done lines. Look, what you all just heard out there is more taxes, $2 trillion in more spending, more deficits, more debt, more government. And if you think then you look at the that's all working, other side of the table. I mean, the truth of the matter is the policies of this administration, which Hillary Clinton and Senator Kaine want to economy have run this economy into a ditch. We're in the…” SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): “15 million new jobs? 15 million New Jobs?” PENCE: “The slowest economic recovery since the -- there are millions more people living in poverty today than the day that Barack Obama with Hillary Clinton at his side.” (Sen. Tim Kaine, Vice Presidential Debate, Longwood University, Farmville, VA, 10/4/16)

The Washington Post Fact Checker Gave Kaine “Three Pinocchios” For Repeating Clinton’s False Claim That Obama Has Created 15 Million Jobs

Along With Several Other Members Of The Clinton Campaign, The Washington Post Fact Checked- Kaine’s Claim That 15 Million Jobs Have Been Created On Obama’s Watch, Saying “That’s 5 Million Jobs Too Many.” “The Clinton campaign is clearly fond of saying that 15 million jobs — or, alternatively, 15 million private-sector jobs — were created in the Obama administration. Clinton frequently indicates that she’s talking about the entire Obama administration. She uses phrases such ‘than when they took office’ or ‘in the last 7 1/2 years.’ But that’s 5 million jobs too many.” (Glenn Kessler, “Clinton’s Misleading Citation Of ‘15 Million Jobs’ Under Obama,” The Washington Post, 8/22/16)

Kaine Was Cited In The Article As Repeating Clinton’s “15 Million” Talking Point. “‘Now, thank goodness under President Obama, we’ve dramatically reduced the unemployment rate. Fifteen million private-sector jobs. So we’re climbing out of it. But there’s still an awful lot of repair work to be done.’ – Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine, interview on CNN, July 29.”(Glenn Kessler, “Clinton’s Misleading Citation Of ‘15 Million Jobs’ Under Obama,” The Washington Post, 8/22/16)

The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler Said Kaine And Clinton’s “15 Million Jobs” Claim Was Only Created By Cherry Picking The Start Date. “So how does Clinton come up with 15 million? She’s counting from the low point for jobs in Obama’s presidency — February 2010. When you start the clock from then, the tally is 15 million private-sector jobs and 14.7 million overall jobs. The last time we checked, February 2010 was 6 1/2 years ago. Clinton is trying to wipe off a year of Obama’s presidency.” (Glenn Kessler, “Clinton’s Misleading Citation Of ‘15 Million Jobs’ Under Obama,” The Washington Post, 8/22/16)

Kaine And Clinton Earned “Three Pinocchios” For Their Claim. “Clinton is clearly trying to use the biggest jobs number possible. But she can’t be so cute and leave listeners with the impression that all of these jobs were created since the start of Obama’s term in office. All she needs to do is make it clear that she is talking about this particular streak of job creation. Until then, she earns Three Pinocchios.” (Glenn Kessler, “Clinton’s Misleading Citation Of ‘15 Million Jobs’ Under Obama,” The Washington Post, 8/22/16)

According To FactCheck.Org, Kaine “Cherry Picks” And Uses “One Of The Clinton Campaign’s Misleading Talking Points” When Discussing Job Growth Under Obama

Kaine Has Inaccurately Asserted That President Obama Cut Unemployment In Half And Created 15 Million New Private Sector Jobs. “Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine, Aug. 30 speech in Lancaster, Pennsylvania: ‘And let’s start with this. President Obama, since he’s come into office, we’ve created 15 million new, private-sector jobs, cut the unemployment rate in half, people’s 401(k)s have come back and they’re worth something again.’” (Lori Robertson, Ilana Nathans, Vanessa Shipani And D’Angelo Gore, “Groundhog Friday,” FactCheck.Org, 9/2/16)

FactCheck.Org Slammed This Assertion As “One Of The Clinton Campaign’s Misleading Talking Points.” “Kaine repeats one of the Clinton campaign’s misleading talking points.” (Lori Robertson, Ilana Nathans, Vanessa Shipani And D’Angelo Gore, “Groundhog Friday,” FactCheck.Org, 9/2/16)

The Talking Point Cherry Picks Facts And Compares The Current Situation To February 2010, The Height Of The Economic Recession, Instead Of The Beginning Of Obama’s Presidential Term In 2009. “Kaine uses the same cherry-picking to claim that under Obama the unemployment rate has been cut ‘in half.’ The rate went from 9.8 in February 2010 to 4.9 in August. But it was 7.8 in January 2009, when Obama was sworn in as president.” (Lori Robertson, Ilana Nathans, Vanessa Shipani And D’Angelo Gore, “Groundhog Friday,” FactCheck.Org, 9/2/16)

FactCheck.Org Rated This Assertion: “Cherry Picks.” (Lori Robertson, Ilana Nathans, Vanessa Shipani And D’Angelo Gore, “Groundhog Friday,” FactCheck.Org, 9/2/16)

LIE #3: KAINE ONCE AGAIN FALSELY STATED THAT TRUMP IS DEFYING NORMS BY NOT RELEASING HIS TAX RETURNS BY CITING NIXON, WHO DID NOT RELEASE HIS TAX RETURNS WHILE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

Kaine Made The False Comparison That Nixon Released His Full Tax Returns While Running For President. SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): “Richard Nixon released tax returns when he was under audit. If you can’t meet Nixon’s standard, people ought to have some concerns.” (Sen. Tim Kaine, Vice Presidential Debate, Longwood University, Farmville, VA, 10/4/16)

Politifact Rated Kaine’s Statement That Nixon Released His Tax Returns When Running For President As “Mostly False”

Politifact Rated Kaine’s Statement That “Even Richard Nixon Released His Tax Returns To The Public When He Was Running For President” As Mostly False. “Kaine said, ‘Even Richard Nixon released his tax returns to the public when he was running for president ...’ Nixon never released his tax returns during a presidential campaign. But there is a kernel of truth in Kaine’s statement. Nixon released his full returns when he already was president, to quell controversy over his taxes. Also while running in 1968, he allowed a reporter to examine his returns, but beyond that limited circumstance, there’s no record that Nixon opened his tax forms to the general public. While Kaine’s statement has an element of truth, it ignores facts that would create a different impression. We rate his statement Mostly False.” (Sean Gorman, “Tim Kaine Wrongly Says Richard Nixon Released Tax Returns During Campaign,” Politifact, 8/22/16)

Kaine “Said Trump’s Refusal To Release His Forms Is A Break From Past GOP Nominees.” “Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said Trump’s refusal to release his forms is a break from past GOP nominees, including one who Kaine said was not known for his ethics. ‘Even Richard Nixon released his tax returns to the public when he was running for president because he said, as has every major party nominee of both parties since, the American public have a right to see my tax returns,’ Kaine told a crowd during a Manchester, N.H., rally on Aug. 13. We weren’t aware that Nixon released his tax returns while he was on the campaign trail.” (Sean Gorman, “Tim Kaine Wrongly Says Richard Nixon Released Tax Returns During Campaign,” Politifact, 8/22/16)

The Clinton Campaign Pointed To Articles About Nixon’s Tax Disclosures, But Politifact Found That Nixon’s Tax Returns From 1969 Through 1972 “Were Not Released While Nixon Was Running For President.” “Sarah Peck, the Virginia director of communications for the Clinton campaign, pointed us to news articles and other sources about Nixon’s tax disclosures. We also looked at the website for the Presidential Tax History Project, which is run by Tax Analysts, a Falls Church-based nonprofit that specializes in tax issues. That group has compiled tax returns online for past presidents and major-party presidential nominees. On the group’s website, you’ll find copies of Nixon’s tax returns from 1969 through 1972. But there’s a catch. Those returns were not released while Nixon was running for president. They were released in December 1973, a year after he was re-elected.” (Sean Gorman, “Tim Kaine Wrongly Says Richard Nixon Released Tax Returns During Campaign,” Politifact, 8/22/16)
Politifact Found No Record Of Nixon Releasing Tax Returns During His Two Other Runs For The Presidency. “We couldn’t find any record of Nixon releasing tax returns during his two other runs for the presidency - in 1960, against John F. Kennedy, or in his 1972 re-election bid against George McGovern. Thorndike said that, to his knowledge, Nixon didn’t release his returns during those campaigns. Mihm also told us he’s not aware of Nixon releasing his tax returns during any of his presidential campaigns.” (Sean Gorman, “Tim Kaine Wrongly Says Richard Nixon Released Tax Returns During Campaign,” Politifact, 8/22/16)

LIE #4: KAINE FALSELY STATED THAT CLINTON ELIMINATED THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM

Sen. Kaine Said That Clinton “Worked A Tough Negotiation” To “Eliminate The Iranian Nuclear Program.” SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): “She worked a tough negotiation with nations around the world to eliminate the Iranian nuclear weapons program without firing a shot.”(Sen. Tim Kaine, Vice Presidential Debate, Longwood University, Farmville, VA, 10/4/16)

The Washington Post Corrected Kaine That Not Only Did Clinton Not Negotiate The Iran Nuclear Deal, But The Deal Also Did Not Eliminate Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program

“Kaine Leans Way Over The Skis Here,” As Clinton Did Not Negotiate The Iran Nuclear Deal And It Does Not Eliminate The Iranian Nuclear Weapon Program. “Kaine leans way over on his skis here. The Iranian nuclear agreement was actually negotiated by Clinton’s successor, John Kerry, though Clinton helped tee up the negotiations by increasing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Kaine On Eliminating Iran’s Nuclear Program,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

The Iran Nuclear Deal Increases The Amount Of Time It Would Take Iran To Get A Nuclear Weapon, But “Expires In 15 Years, And Iran’s Nuclear Infrastructure Remains In Place.” “The deal, which has been sharply criticized by Republicans, did increase the amount of time that Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon by reducing its centrifuges for uranium enrichment and its stockpile of enriched uranium. But the deal expires in 15 years, and Iran’s nuclear infrastructure remains in place.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Kaine On Eliminating Iran’s Nuclear Program,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

Ultimately, The Iran Nuclear Deal “Does Not Eliminate The Risk That It Will Obtain Nuclear Bombs.” “While Iran has insisted it has no interest in building nuclear weapons, the deal does not eliminate the risk that it will obtain nuclear bombs.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Kaine On Eliminating Iran’s Nuclear Program,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

LIE #5: KAINE REPEATED CLINTON'S LIE THE BUSH TAX CUTS CAUSED THE ECONOMIC RECESSION, REPEATING CLINTON’S FALSE STATEMENT

Kaine Asserted That The Bush Tax Cuts “Put The Economy Into The Deepest Recession Since The 1930s.” SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): “The second component of the plan is massive tax breaks for the very top, trillions of dollars of tax breaks for people just like Donald Trump. The problem with this, Elaine, is that’s exactly what we did 10 years ago and it put the economy into the deepest recession — the deepest recession since the 1930s.” (Sen. Tim Kaine, Vice Presidential Debate, Longwood University, Farmville, VA, 10/4/16)

Kaine’s Statement Doubles Down On Clinton’s, Which Earned Her Three Pinocchios From The Washington Post

“Kaine Repeats A Line That Recently Earned Hillary Clinton Three Pinocchios.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Kaine On The Bush Tax Cuts,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

“No Credible Analyst Would Cite The Bush Tax Cuts As Playing A Key Role In Spurring The Economic Crash.” “But no credible analyst would cite the Bush tax cuts as playing a key role in spurring the economic crash.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Kaine On The Bush Tax Cuts,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

“Kaine Puts It Even More Starkly Than Clinton.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Kaine On The Bush Tax Cuts,” The Washington Post, 10/4/16)

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Republican National Committee

RNC Statement On The Vice Presidential Debate

WASHINGTON -- Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus released the following statement on tonight’s vice presidential debate:
 
“Mike Pence decisively won tonight’s debate by offering a clear alternative to the broken D.C. status quo that Tim Kaine and Hillary Clinton have spent years propping up,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “While Donald Trump and Mike Pence are committing to end business as usual in Washington, the Clinton-Kaine ticket is a dream team for special interests and insiders, and they will only double down on the Obama Administration’s failed approach to confronting our greatest problems. Tim Kaine’s refusal to address Hillary Clinton’s secret email server and her corrupt Clinton Foundation proves yet again those in the Clinton political machine will always put self-interest and political ambition ahead of the truth. While Tim Kaine desperately flailed away with empty platitudes and constant interruptions, Mike Pence put forth the Trump-Pence vision for shaking up the Beltway, keeping Americans safe from terrorism, and making sure the American Dream is within everyone’s reach.”