We watched closely. But in the first two nights, the main speakers mostly spoke in general or offered subjective opinions – and when making statements of fact, they were largely correct.
Yet at least some of their claims have been questionable or lack relevant context.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo bragged about his state’s efforts to fight the coronavirus on Monday, pitting his government’s approach against how the federal government has handled the pandemic.
Cuomo said that “as they have proven their path has failed, we have proven our path to be successful.” He added, “And with all the pain and all the tears, our path has worked. And it was beautiful.”
Facts first: New York currently has low levels coronavirus infection, hospitalization, and death compared to other major U.S. cities. However, it is strongly questionable whether Cuomo’s overall management of the pandemic has been successful. He did not mention some important facts and statistics.
Although New York has significantly flattened its coronavirus curve since its April peak, that initial peak was severe. As of Wednesday, New York had consistently had more than twice as many coronavirus deaths as any other U.S. state – more than 32,800, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – and was second, behind New Jersey, in deaths for 100,000 people, with 169.
While part of the New York crisis was undoubtedly caused by bad luck – as a hub of international travel, New York City was hit by the virus before other major US cities – l Cuomo’s approach probably contributed not only to current successes, but also to initial failures.
Cuomo was initially reluctant to order residents of the state to stay in their homes; he issued a stay-at-home order on March 20 (it went into effect on March 22) – four days after a group of California counties issued similar orders and one day after the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, issued such an order for the state. California had fewer confirmed cases than New York at the time.
Cuomo’s early communications about the virus have also been called into question. He said on March 19: “I’m as scared of fear and panic as I am of the virus, and I think fear is more contagious than the virus right now. You take a place like New York City, we are almost at a panic level so what you say and how you communicate is very important Should everyone stay home? Of course. Are we in jail? No
Seeking to free up hospital beds, the Cuomo administration also issued a controversial March 25 directive banning nursing homes from refusing new or returning residents with the coronavirus. More than 6,400 residents of New York City nursing homes have died from the virus. (The extent to which the March 25 order contributed to the death toll is unclear.)
The Trump administration and the “ cages ”
Denouncing the Trump administration, former first lady Michelle Obama said Monday that American children “look with horror at children torn from their families and thrown into cages.”
Facts first: The Trump administration has imposed a policy of systematic separation of migrant children from their parents at the border; separation has occurred much less frequently under President Barack Obama. However, Michelle Obama did not mention that “cages” were also used under her husband’s administration to house migrant children; some of the facilities controversially used to keep children in cages under President Donald Trump were in fact built under Barack Obama.
Trump and the ‘hoax’
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said on Tuesday of the Milwaukee Democrats: “Unlike the President, we never called Covid-19 a hoax.”
Facts first: During a February campaign rallyTrump called something related to the virus a Democratic “hoax”. The president, however, did not clarify whether he was calling the virus itself a hoax or whether he was saying that Democratic criticism of the management of the virus by its administration was a hoax. When asked the next day, he said he was speaking specifically of Democratic criticism.
We cannot characterize Barrett’s statement as false despite Trump’s explanation the next day: The president’s imprecise statement at the rally was open to viewers’ interpretation. But it’s worth noting that there is certainly a more benign way to look at it. For your information, here is what Trump said at the rally:
“Very dishonest people. Now Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. You know that, don’t you? Coronavirus. They are politicizing it. We did one of the big jobs, you say, ‘How is President Trump doing ? “They say,” Oh, not good, not good. They have no idea. They have no idea. … One of my people came up to me and said, Mr. President, that they had tried to beat you against Russia, Russia, Russia. They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. It was about perfect conversation. They tried anything, they Tried it over and over, they’ve been doing it since she came in. Everything turns, they lost. Everything turns, think about it, think about it. And this is their new hoax. ”
Iran and nuclear weapons
Former Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday: “We have eliminated the threat of an Iran with a nuclear weapon”.
Facts first: We would let go if Kerry had said that the Obama administration was “reducing” the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon, but it is an exaggeration to say that the administration “eliminated” the threat – suggesting a permanent eradication that the 2015 nuclear deal did not (and could not) provide.
The deal, which Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from in 2018, included strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities, an Iranian commitment to allow regular inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a Iranian promise that the country would not seek, develop or acquire nuclear weapons. . Iran has remained in compliance with the terms of the deal for the Trump presidency, according to the IAEA and the Trump administration itself.
However, while the commitment to inspections and the pledge not to prosecute had no expiration date in the agreement, other parts of the agreement included sunset clauses. For example, its limits on the number of first-generation centrifuges Iran can own and on research and development of more advanced centrifuges were due to end in 2025. Its limit of 3.67% on uranium purity was due to end in 2030.
In addition, the agreement did not include guaranteed access for inspectors to Iranian military sites. And, to put it extremely obvious, political winds can change over time; a future Iranian leader might simply reject the deal, just as the new American leader, Trump, did himself. After Trump rejected the deal, Iran stopped complying with some of its provisions.
Social security and mail
As Democrats criticized the Trump administration for its handling of the U.S. Postal Service, Eva Longoria Bastón, the actress and activist who moderated Monday’s debates, said: “Social Security recipients rely on the post for their checks “.
The facts first: Although some prominent conservatives put it wrong, Longoria was right. While 99.1% of Social Security recipients now receive their money through direct deposit, that remaining 0.9% equates to 549,818 people receiving checks, according to official data released by the Social Security Administration for this month.
“Almost 850,000” paper checks come out of the Social Security Administration each month if you include the Supplemental Security Income program, said Social Security Administration spokesman Mark Hinkle. (Supplemental Security Income provides money for the elderly, blind or disabled with low income and few resources.) Hinkle said that, if you consider both Social Security and Supplemental Security income, the pay-as-you-go is 98.8% direct deposit, 1.2% checks.
Longoria and other Democrats could certainly be clearer that they are talking about a distinct minority of Social Security recipients who receive mailed checks. But this distinct minority is still a large number of beneficiaries.
