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Books by and about 2024 presidential candidates |
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Hillbilly Elegy,
by JD Vance (2017) |
Crippled America,
by Donald J. Trump (2015) |
Fire and Fury,
by Michael Wolff (2018) |
Trump Revealed,
by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher (2016) |
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2016) |
Promise Me, Dad ,
by Joe Biden (2017) |
The Book of Joe ,
by Jeff Wilser (2019; biography of Joe Biden) |
The Truths We Hold,
by Kamala Harris (2019) |
Smart on Crime,
by Kamala Harris (2010) |
Becoming,
by Michelle Obama (2018) |
Higher Loyalty,
by James Comey (2018) |
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2017) |
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Book Reviews |
(from Amazon.com) |
(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com)
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Presidential Primary Fact Checking by OnTheIssues.org
EXPLANATORY NOTE by OnTheIssues.org:
Numerous organizations perform "FactChecks" on candidates for public office.
Numerous OnTheIssues viewers have complained that the "FactCheckers" are as biased as the candidates.
We address the bias of the fact-checkers by including fact-checking from several sources.
In 2011, we use FactCheck.org and PolitiFact.com.
And we also have started our own internal fact-checking.
OnTheIssues.org's fact-checking focuses on subtle lies.
Politicians are very good at telling half-truths which deflect attention from the real issue -- we attempt here to point out those types of lies.
And we cover not-so-subtle lies that the other fact-checkers miss.
We remind voters to keep in mind the old adage:
Q: "How can you tell when a politician is lying?"
A: "His lips are moving."
We add to that adage that the mainstream news media are just as bad -- they line up to listen to the lies, and then report them to the public as truth.
Q: "How can you tell when news reports are lying?"
A: "When they just repeat what politicians say."
An honest press would instead investigate every statement made by politicians, rather than breathlessly repeating the lies as if they were true.
The mainstream media has abandoned that essential role. We attempt to remedy that on this website.
-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, August 2011
Additional citations:
- DonaldJTrump.com press release: "Fraternal Order of Police Endorses President Donald J. Trump," September 06, 2024, (Link)
- Associated Press News, "JD Vance says he laments that school shootings are a 'fact of life' and calls for better security," by Jonathan J. Cooper, September 5, 2024, (Link)
- OnTheIssues FactCheck on The Hill 07/26/22: "Harm Reduction International" (Link) and "World Health Rankings" (Link)
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| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details)
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Abortion
Chris Christie: FactCheck: Donor to Planned Parenthood in '94, but denies it.
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Budget & Economy
Bernie Sanders: FactCheck, yes, 3 top people wealthier than half of America.
John Neely Kennedy: FactCheck: Yes, supported ARPA funds for natural disasters.
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Civil Rights
Clay Higgins: FactCheck: Biblical marriage includes polygamy and chattel.
John F. Kennedy: FactCheck: 1960 election 70%-30% for JFK among black voters.
Lyndon Johnson: FactCheck: Civil Rights Act led to 90% black vote for Dems.
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Corporations
Bernie Sanders: Regrets vote to deregulate swaps and derivatives.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, hedge-fund billionaires run ads against her.
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Crime
Donald Trump: FactCheck: No, not endorsed by Portland's Sheriff.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Yes, Trump aide said rioting & chaos helps Trump.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: falsely claims Biden wants to defund the police.
Joe Biden: FactCheck: Endorsed by 175 law enforcement officials.
John Kasich: FactCheck: Catholic faith does NOT support death penalty.
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Drugs
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Executing drug dealers doesn't save lives.
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Education
Donald Trump: FactCheck: More than figurehead at Trump U.
Joe Biden: FactCheck: Attended U.Delaware, not Delaware State HBCU.
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Energy & Oil
Donald Trump: FactCheck: falsely blames windmills for Texas power outage.
James Inhofe: FactCheck: Bush made change to "climate change," not Obama.
Joe Biden: FactCheck:US rejoined world in GHG reduction, not vice-versa.
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Environment
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Yes, hybrid family vehicles are available in US.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Alabama WAS in hurricane risk, before Trump said.
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Families & Children
Rick Santorum: FactCheck: Yes, ISIS declared fatwa to kill disabled kids.
JD Vance: FactCheck: School shootings are fact of life only in America.
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Foreign Policy
Chris Christie: World has fewer democracies than before Obama.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: No, Iran is not a trading partner of North Korea.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Yes, Senate approved US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Eric Cantor: FactCheck: Jihadists resent US occupation, not our beliefs.
John Kasich: FactCheck: Yes, U.S. economy bigger than next two combined.
Rick Perry: FactCheck: Pakistan is our ally, according to Bush generals.
Sarah Palin: FactCheck: Never said, "I can see Russia from my house".
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Free Trade
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Yes, has opposed trade deals since Reagan.
Joe Biden: FactCheck: Yes, US has tried "Buy American" for 100 years.
Rick Santorum: FactCheck: Several other candidates support EXIM Bank too.
Ted Cruz: I always opposed TPP, but I supported TPA.
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Government Reform
Bill Cassidy: FactCheck: Yes, giving water to voters is criminalized.
Ed Markey: Authored laws on Telecomm, insider trading, and Alzheimers.
Joe Biden: 30 years ago, I proposed campaign finance reform.
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Gun Control
Bernie Sanders: FactCheck: No, never supported by National Rifle Association.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: 33,000 gun deaths includes suicides & accidents.
Martin O`Malley: FactCheck: Yes, ISIL made videos on buying assault weapons.
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Health Care
Donald Trump: FactCheck: No, America has tested less than Europe combined.
Donald Trump: Falsely claims US did more tests rest of world combined.
Paul Ryan: FactCheck: No, Medicare cost doesn't exceed national defense.
Xi Jinping: FactCheck: Overcame impact of COVID-19; played down costs.
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Homeland Security
Barack Obama: We spend more on military than next 8 nations combined.
Herman Cain: FactCheck: No, Israel leader never mentioned our way of life.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: No, ISIL doesn't cite Trump in recruitment videos.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: 7 official reports on Benghazi over 3-year period.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Dozens of U.S. diplomats killed during Bush terms.
Jeb Bush: FactCheck: No, Benghazi wasn't 1st deadly assault since 1979.
Kevin McCarthy: Questions remain unanswered about Benghazi.
Marco Rubio: FactCheck: Yes, Air Force is now smallest in its history.
Rand Paul: FactCheck: Yes, military spending as much as next 10 nations.
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Immigration
Donald Trump: FactCheck: "Fire and Fury" ignored Trump's 2000 book.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, would increase Syrian refugees by 550%.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, voted for a partial wall on Mexican border.
Jill Stein: FactCheck: 2.5M deportations counts removals, not returns.
Kirstjen Nielsen: FactCheck: Falsely claims no policy of family separation.
Nikki Haley: FactCheck: US does have history of religion-based exclusion.
Ted Cruz: FactCheck: Yes, Bill Clinton deported 12M illegal aliens.
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Jobs
Barack Obama: We've cut unemployment in half during my term.
Ron Paul: FactCheck: Feds paid for 8M WWII vets to attend college.
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Principles & Values
Donald Trump: I have a daughter and son-in-law who are Jewish.
Donald Trump: A businessman, not a lifelong politician.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: "We have the best testing in the world"? Not!
Donald Trump: FactCheck: 2016 was Trump's 3rd run for presidency, not 1st.
Gabriel Gomez: FactCheck: Markey authored successful bills over 22 years.
Joe Biden: FactCheck: No, only 50% of recent presidents were Ivy league.
Michael Bennet: Jewish mother survived Holocaust in Warsaw Ghetto.
Paul Ryan: FactCheck: "Progressivists" is intentionally insulting term.
Ted Cruz: FactCheck: McCain was born in US territory, not Panama.
Ted Cruz: FactCheck: Yes, Cruz speaks Spanish & understands Univision.
Ted Cruz: OpEd: attacking "New York values" is anti-Semitism.
Donald Trump: The Big Lie was the Election itself.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Claims GOP is growing as 30,000+ left.
Donald Trump: January 6 commemoration is political theater: a distraction.
Donald Trump: Endorsed by 4 major newspapers (but 50+ endorse Harris/Walz).
Kamala Harris: Endorsed by 50+ major newspapers (with 4 endorsing Trump).
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Social Security
Lyndon Johnson: FactCheck: Moved Trust Fund to "on-budget," not spendable.
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Tax Reform
Bobby Jindal: FactCheck: JFK lowered top income tax rate from 91% to 65%.
Donald Trump: Fact Check: Claims falsely that Biden would raise all taxes.
Herman Cain: FactCheck: No, middle-earners pay more than 20% of taxes.
Joe Biden: Return top rate to 39.6% from 37%; cap itemized deductions.
John F. Kennedy: FactCheck: JFK lowered top income tax rate from 91% to 65%.
Paul Ryan: FactCheck: JFK cut rates by 20%, but from twice today's rate.
Rush Limbaugh: FactCheck: JFK lowered top income tax rate from 91% to 65%.
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Technology
Justin Olson: Censorship of conservative voices is unconstitutional(?).
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War & Peace
Ben Carson: FactCheck: Yes, Congress declared war after 9/11, sort of.
Bernie Sanders: Qatar is wealthy; needs to get skin in game against ISIS.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Would shoot Iranian warships too near US warships.
Pat Buchanan: FactCheck: Nukes do not protect a country from attack.
Richard Nixon: FactCheck: No, Vietnam War ended in 1975, not 1973.
Ted Cruz: FactCheck: No, ISIS and Iran haven't declared war on America.
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The above quotations are from Presidential Primary Fact Checking by OnTheIssues.org.
Fact-checking citations:
- Economic Times, "Aiming for 'Zero COVID,' China focuses on food, clothing and, soon, the Olympics," by Alexandra Stevenson & Cao Li, Nov 13, 2021
- US News & World Report, "Louisiana's US Sen. John Kennedy Draws Democratic Opponent," Oct. 5, 2021
- The Hill e-zine, "Sheriff from Portland quickly refutes Trump claim of endorsement," by Justine Coleman, 09/30/20
- Delaware News Journal, "No, Joe Biden did not say he attended Delaware State University," by Natalia Alamdari, 9/29/20
- Fox News, "More than 175 current, former law enforcement officials endorse Joe Biden," by Brooke Singman, September 4, 2020
- Business Insider, "Kellyanne Conway says 'chaos and violence' after the police shooting of Jacob Blake is good for Trump's reelection," by Eliza Relman, Aug 27, 2020
- FactCheck on Fox News Sunday interview of Donald Trump, July 19, 2020
- FactCheck on Twitter posting, @realDonaldTrump on Washington Post, "A Boost In Tests, But Lack Of Takers", 5/18/2020
- (On Bernie Sanders): OnTheIssues Fact-Check on December Democratic primary debate, Dec 19, 2019
- (On Donald Trump): OnTheIssues Fact-Check on 2018 State of the Union address, Jan 30, 2018
- (On John Kasich): OnTheIssues Fact-Check: John Kasich on Meet the Press, Sep 24, 2017
- (On John Kasich): OnTheIssues Fact-Check on Two Paths, by John Kasich, p.236, Apr 25, 2017
- (On Donald Trump): OnTheIssues Fact-Checking on 2016 presidential hopefuls, Oct 9, 2016
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