In farewell video, Trump repeats familiar lies



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What Mr. Trump said

“We rebuilt the American manufacturing base, opened thousands of new factories and brought back the beautiful phrase ‘Made in the USA'”

It lacks evidence. Manufacturing employment increased by just under 500,000 before the pandemic, but by December it had fallen by more than 75,000 since Mr. Trump took office. Manufacturing output also rose slightly, before dropping to a level below when Mr. Trump took office. The number of manufacturing establishments increased under Mr. Trump, but most of them employ five people or less.

What Mr. Trump said

“We have embraced VA Choice, VA Accountability, Right to Try, and historic criminal justice reform.”

It is misleading. The Veterans Choice healthcare program was established in 2014; Mr. Trump signed an update to this law. Likewise, the ‘Right to Judge’ Act of 2018 allows terminally ill patients to seek access to experimental medicine that is not yet fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but a similar program is in place. since the 1970s.

What Mr. Trump said

“NATO countries are now paying hundreds of billions of dollars more than when I arrived just a few years ago. It was very unfair. We were paying the price for the world. “

It’s exaggerated. Four years in office have not altered Mr. Trump’s incorrect understanding and characterization of the military spending obligations of members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Member countries make direct contributions to the organization’s relatively small central fund, based on national income, and also agree to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.

Mr Trump’s complaints prompted the alliance to reduce the US contribution to the common fund, which covers headquarters operations and some joint exercises, to 16% of the total, from 22%. NATO’s strength, however, comes from the military budgets of each member nation. The number of countries meeting the 2 percent guideline has increased from five to 10 in recent years. Mr Trump can boast of having increased his spending, but it should be noted that in 2014, before he took office, countries pledged to meet that target within a decade.

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