Fact Checking Donald Trump’s Acceptance Speech

  1. The setting

Research: Where and when did Trump give his speech? Who are the people he addresses?

  1. General comprehension

What are Trump’s three key announcements?

  1. Detailed comprehension

First claim

a)What is Trump’s first claim?

b)According to the WSJ team, is this claim true or false?

c)In 2014, the U.S. federal state and local governments collected a total of …..% of the GDP in taxes, which is higher/lower than the average of …..% collected by thirty other advanced industrialized nations, which also offer more generous social benefits.

d)In a nutshell, according to the WSJ fact checkers, is the U.S. a low- or high-tax country?

Second claim

a)What is Trump’s second claim?

b)According to the WSJ team, is this claim true or false?

c)The U.S. national debt was … trillion dollars eight years ago, and it is … trillion in 2016. However, this includes intragovernmental holdings held by government trust funds. A better gauge is the ……………………………., but it has also ……………… since 2007.

d)According to the WSJ fact checkers, what is a positive economic indicator regarding this issue?

Third claim

a)What is Trump’s third claim?

b)According to the WSJ team, is this claim true or false?

c)The …………………………. rose in 2016 in NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago compared to 2015. However, they are nowhere close to the ……… levels.

d)The WSJ substantiates its claims giving the NYC numbers for 2014, 2015, and 1990. Write them down.

Fourth claim

a)What is Trump’s fourth claim?

b)According to Trump, the number has risen by …..% in 2016 compared to this point last year, but the fact checkers show that the increase is of only ..…%

c)Write the numbers for the years 2015, 2016, and 1974.

Fact checking Clinton’s public statements on her emails

  1. The settings

a)What are the two news outlets that Jake Tapper works for?

b)This video presents three different settings at three different time periods. Fill in this table.

Type of setting / Congressional hearing
People present / Chris Wallace and Hillary Clinton
Date / August 4, 2016
  1. General comprehension

a)According to Tapper, what did Clinton repeatedly tell the American people?

b)Does he present this assertion as true or false?

  1. Detailed comprehension

a)According to FBI director James Comey, there is no basis to conclude that Clinton ………………………………… However, more than ………………. (number) of the 30,490 emails she sent or received when she was Secretary of State contained ………………………………… Most of them were classified …………………………….. but …………… (number) of them were marked as classified at the time they were sent or received.

b)What is Tapper’s reminder to all politicians?