PHOENIX — We're fact-checking claims in two speeches from former President Trump, who spoke at the Arizona border ahead of a rally Friday in Glendale, and Vice President Harris, who accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night.
First, three claims from Trump's speech Thursday.
Claim
Illegal border crossings were the lowest in history during Trump's last week in office
Quote
"That's my last week. The arrow, arrow on the bottom, you see that's the lowest point, as the gentlemen were talking, that's the lowest point in the recorded history of the border. This was done by border patrol. This wasn't done by Trump."
Verdict
During his appearance at the Mexico border Thursday, Trump brought a copy of a chart he's been using for weeks, including at the Republican National Convention.
However, that chart doesn't show that illegal border crossings were at their lowest during January of 2021, which was Trump's last week in office. The arrow he's referring to points to April of 2020, which was the start of the pandemic.
The US Customs and Border Protection's border crossing statistics show many other times when illegal crossings were lower than in April 2020, including in 2017 during Trump's first term.
Claim
There were 818,000 fewer jobs created last year, and a "leaker" uncovered it.
Quote
"Thanks to a leaker yesterday, meaning, probably, in this case, a patriot. They were forced to release numbers they claimed falsely that they created 18, 818,000 jobs. So they said they did almost a million jobs, 818,000 jobs that actually didn't exist."
Verdict
True and False
The Bureau of Labor Statistics did overstate its job numbers from March 2023 to March 2024.
The estimates for job creation were off by 818,000 jobs, meaning unemployment did not improve as much as previously thought.
That part is true.
But Trump's claim that a "leaker" uncovered that information is false.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics rechecks those numbers every year. The revision was posted on the Bureau's website and is available for anyone to find.
That's something Trump said three minutes after making the first claim.
"High officials said, well, we don't really believe those numbers because Trump gave them," Trump said Thursday. "I didn't give them. I got them from the administration, from the Labor Bureau."
Claim
Undocumented immigrants are taking Black and Hispanic jobs.
Quote
"We have millions of illegal aliens that have poured into our country. They've taken the jobs of African Americans and Hispanics."
Verdict
False
Trump has said this many times before, including in June, the last time he held a rally in Phoenix.
But this is false.
The government doesn’t track employment for people here illegally.
But it does track unemployment, and Black and Hispanic unemployment has gone down steadily since 2020. It's currently at a lower rate than in 2021.
If those jobs were being taken, we would expect unemployment to rise, but it’s not.
Fact-checking Kamala Harris's speech
Claim
Trump would deploy the US military against American citizens.
Quote
"...his explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens."
Verdict
True
Vice President Kamala Harris made this claim Thursday night during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump did say he would use the US military inside the country, which would be a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act that prohibits the military from operating inside US borders.
Trump said it in 2020 during the George Floyd protests and riots that spread across the country.
"If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them," he said during a statement at the White House Rose Garden in June, 2020.
Decision 2024
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