For the reason that starting of his political profession, Donald J. Trump has misled, mischaracterized, dissembled, exaggerated and, at occasions, flatly lied. His flawed statements concerning the border, the financial system, the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 election have shaped the bedrock of his 2024 marketing campaign.
Although his penchant for bending, and sometimes breaking, the reality has been properly documented, an in depth examine of how he does so reveals a sort of approach to his dishonesty: a set of recurring rhetorical strikes with which Mr. Trump fuels his recognition amongst his supporters.
Within the week beginning with Mr. Trump’s victory speech in Iowa by way of his win within the New Hampshire main — the contests that put him on the trail to turning into his social gathering’s nominee for the third consecutive time — The New York Instances analyzed all of his public statements, together with speeches, interviews and social media posts.
His phrases targeted closely on attacking his political rivals, self-aggrandizing and stoking worry to make his case for 2024. In doing so, Mr. Trump typically relied on repeated falsehoods and half-truths. He has but to deviate from this strategy within the common election.
Right here’s a take a look at how he does it.
He grossly distorts his opponents’ data and proposals to make them sound unreasonable.
Trump Presidential Marketing campaign by way of C-span
Atkinson, N.H., rally, Jan. 16, 2024
Whereas Joe Biden is pushing the biggest tax hike in American historical past – you understand, he desires to quadruple your taxes.
President Biden has not proposed quadrupling taxes. In actual fact, he has persistently vowed to not elevate taxes on anybody incomes lower than $400,000.
Sean Hannity interview, Jan. 22, 2024
I imply, what he’s doing with power with an all-electric mandate, the place you gained’t have the ability to purchase every other type of automobile in a really brief time period.
Mr. Biden has not carried out an electrical automobile mandate. The administration has introduced guidelines that will restrict tailpipe emissions from vehicles and lightweight vans, successfully requiring automakers to promote extra electrical automobiles and hybrids. It doesn’t ban gasoline vehicles.
He exaggerates and twists the information to make his document sound higher than it’s.
Newsmax interview, Jan. 21, 2024
And consider it, for 4 years we had no terror downside.
There have been in actual fact terrorist assaults in the USA through the Trump administration. In 2017, to call one, a local of Uzbekistan plowed a pickup truck down a motorbike path in Manhattan, killing eight folks. The Justice Division stated the motive force, Sayfullo Saipov, carried out the terrorist assault within the identify of ISIS.
Atkinson, N.H., rally, Jan. 16, 2024
We had the perfect financial system. We had no inflation.
The financial system wasn’t the “finest” below Mr. Trump. Even setting apart Covid, the common progress charge was decrease below Mr. Trump than below former Presidents Invoice Clinton and Ronald Reagan. And inflation was low, nevertheless it wasn’t nonexistent.
Hannity interview, Jan. 18, 2024
We had gasoline at $1.87.
The nationwide common worth of a gallon of gasoline dropped to that worth throughout one week amid the Covid lockdown in 2020, when demand was terribly low. However when Mr. Trump left workplace in January 2021, the nationwide common was $2.42.
He depends on each well-worn and contemporary claims of election rigging to recommend he can lose provided that his opponents cheat.
Portsmouth, N.H., rally, Jan. 17, 2024
The novel-left Democrats rigged the presidential election of 2020, and we’re not going to permit them to rig the presidential election of 2024.
The 2020 election was not rigged. Mr. Trump has uttered a whole bunch of inaccurate claims to help the false declare that it was — mischaracterizing voting processes, citing baseless circumstances of supposed fraud and sharing conspiracy theories about voting machines.
Atkinson, N.H., rally, Jan. 16, 2024
As you understand, Nikki Haley specifically is relying on the Democrats and liberals to infiltrate your Republican main.
Registered Democrats weren’t in a position to vote within the New Hampshire Republican main. The competition was open to registered Republicans and independents. Any Democrats who switched events or re-registered as independents to vote within the Republican main — and a few did — had to take action earlier than an October 2023 deadline, months earlier than the competition.
Laconia, N.H., rally, Jan. 22, 2024
The Republicans went as much as vote and not one of the machines had been working. This was not good. However after all, they stated, Effectively, this was simply the way in which it goes. , 1000’s of individuals weren’t allowed to vote. However she, uh, she’s an excellent particular person, and he or she’s going to be a U.S. senator very quickly. Kari Lake.
The declare that “1000’s” of voters had been blocked from casting their ballots in Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial election — on the expense of Mr. Trump’s most well-liked candidate, Ms. Lake — is fake. There have been some glitches in Maricopa County, however voters had been largely in a position to solid their votes.
He has turned his legal circumstances right into a rallying cry, baselessly asserting that he’s being persecuted by his successor.
Fox interview with Bret Baier, Jan. 20, 2024
These are all Biden indictments.
Mr. Trump has not provided any proof for his rivalry that Mr. Biden has orchestrated the legal prices towards him. Two of his 4 circumstances had been introduced on the state degree. On the federal degree, Mr. Trump’s legal prices — in relation to his effort to stay in energy after shedding the 2020 election and, individually, over his retention of categorised paperwork after leaving workplace — are dealt with by a particular counsel and had been put earlier than grand juries.
Atkinson, N.H., rally, Jan. 16, 2024
I’ve been indicted greater than Alphonse Capone.
Mr. Trump has been indicted 4 occasions. Mr. Capone was indicted not less than six occasions, in line with A. Brad Schwartz, a historian and biographer of the notorious gangster.
He makes unverifiable claims about what the world would have been like had he secured a second time period.
Harmony, N.H., rally, Jan. 19, 2024
We wouldn’t have Russia attacking Ukraine. We wouldn’t have inflation. We wouldn’t have the assault on Israel.
There isn’t a proof that these occasions wouldn’t or couldn’t have occurred had the 2020 election consequence been totally different — and it’s not possible to show. However consultants say the context surrounding these occasions render his claims extremely questionable.
Atkinson, N.H., rally, Jan. 16, 2024
China had a crash yesterday of their inventory market. why? As a result of I gained Iowa.
There isn’t a proof that China’s inventory market woes had been associated to Mr. Trump’s victory within the Iowa caucuses.
He describes the USA as a nation in ruins.
Laconia, N.H., rally, Jan. 22, 2024
We’re a nation that screens its residents viciously in any respect ports. However if you’re an unlawful alien, you’re allowed to stream by way of our nation with no examine in any respect.
Undocumented immigrants caught crossing the border are processed, whether or not they’re returned to different nations or later launched into the nation awaiting future proceedings.
Manchester, N.H., rally, Jan. 20, 2024
And now we’re a nation that desires to make our revered and really highly effective Military tanks – the perfect wherever on the earth – all electrical.
There aren’t any plans to make Military tanks all electrical.
Laconia, N.H., rally, Jan. 22, 2024
We’re a third-world nation.
That is, after all, false.
Laconia, N.H., rally, Jan. 22, 2024
We’re not power unbiased or power dominant as we had been just some brief years in the past.
Power manufacturing — together with oil and gasoline — has boomed below President Biden. Below each administrations, the USA has been a web exporter of petroleum and pure gasoline, nevertheless it nonetheless depends on imports.
Laconia, N.H., rally, Jan. 22, 2024
I don’t know what it’s with Catholics, however the F.B.I. goes after Catholics.
Mr. Trump’s declare is almost certainly primarily based on an F.B.I. area workplace memo that warned of the potential for extremism amongst adherents of a “radical-traditionalist Catholic” ideology. However the memo was withdrawn and repeatedly condemned by the nation’s high regulation enforcement officers.
