(Photo: Getty Images)

Fact-checking the 2020 presidential election

The first debate of the 2020 Presidential Election was a night filled with disruptions and misleading if not false claims. Though there was no live fact-checking, we recap some of the craziest claims of the debate by candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

In a recent report by the New York Times, the tax-return data for Trump and his businesses indicated that Trump only paid $740 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017. The report also indicated that Trump paid no taxes at all for 10 of the prior 15 years before 2016.

During the debate, Trump claimed that he paid “millions of dollars” in federal income taxes in the same years disputed and has also denied releasing his tax return information claiming there is a “pending audit.” Trump continued to claim that he paid other types of taxes and has not provided proof to refute the Times report, therefore there is no physical evidence to substantiate his claim of paying millions of dollars in taxes.

Another false claim made by Trump was in regards to the recent California wildfires and blames the forest management for improper maintenance. Wildfires experts confirm that the California wildfires are caused by climate change and have made California’s environment more flammable over time with increased cases of wildfires.

One of the biggest issues of the debate was healthcare and President Trump claimed to be providing insulin at lower prices but insulin prices are higher for seniors. In July, Trump signed an executive order on insulin but limited the scope that targeted a select group of health care providers only representing less than 2% of outlets for insulin.

With the executive only recognizing a small scope, insulin prices for seniors rose in 2017 and 2018. This executive order made insulin more expensive for patients who need it including uninsured patients.

President Trump acted confident in his endorsements, claiming the sheriff of Portland, Oregon supports his campaign in the upcoming election. The Multnomah County of Portland Sheriff Mike Reese publicly announced on Twitter that he isn’t supporting Trump saying he never has and never will support him.

Biden claimed that violent crime dropped 15% during the Obama administration and the rate has risen during the Trump administration which is partially true. Biden was correct that the crime rate dropped nearly 16% from 2008 to 2016 during the Obama administration.

According to data from the FBI, the crime rate has decreased every year Trump has been in office but the murder rate increased to 26% this year under the Trump administration. The data can deem this statement only half-true as the basis for comparison was based on different snapshots of time intervals and crime data during each administration.