By: Siri Christiansen , Vanita Ganesh , Umme Kulsum , Emmi Kivi
September 11 2024
Inflation, immigration, trade deficit: Fact-checking Trump vs Harris debate
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris debating on September 10. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump debated on September 10 on ABC News, the first presidential debate of the 2024 election between the two nominees.
Logically Facts analyzed some of the claims made during the debate. Follow the timestamps linked to the ABC News debate livestream.
Trump says millions of people coming into U.S. from prisons and asylums
Trump said, "On top of that, we have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums."
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, there were around 10 million border encounters from January 2021 through July 2024. Further CBP data shows that between the fiscal year 2021 and the latest available 2024 data, immigration officials arrested less than 200,000 non-citizens with previous criminal convictions in the U.S. or abroad — not millions.
Logically Facts found no database on the CBP website detailing the number of people encountered at the border who came from an asylum.
Trump says Biden had 'highest inflation' perhaps in U.S. history
Trump said, "I had no inflation - virtually no inflation. They had the highest inflation, perhaps in the history of our country, because I've never seen a worse period of time."
Inflation remained relatively low during Trump's term, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising 2.9 percent in July 2018.
The claim the Democrats oversaw the highest inflation in history is inaccurate. Inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in July 2022 under Joe Biden, but this is not a record high. Inflation reached more than 14 percent in 1980, according to Federal Reserve CPI data.
According to an analysis published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), global supply chain issues in 2021 and 2022, oil shortages following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and federal initiatives introduced to curb the impact of the pandemic contributed to the high inflation rates.
Harris says trade deficit was "one of the highest" during Trump administration
Harris said, "Well, let's be clear that the Trump administration resulted in a trade deficit, one of the highest we've ever seen in America's history."
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a trade deficit occurs when a country imports more than it exports.
As per figures released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in February 2021, the annual goods and services trade deficit rose to approximately $670 billion in 2020 from $570 billion in 2019. Trade deficits were also higher during the Bush administration than during Trump's term.
The deficit grew during the Biden administration, however. In 2022, the trade deficit reached $940 billion per BEA data and decreased to $770 billion in 2023.
Trump airs baseless claim of Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio
Timestamp: 29:32
Trump said, "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating, they're eating the pets of the people that live there."
His running mate, JD Vance, shared the claim on X on September 9, before the debate, that Haitian immigrants were abducting and eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio.
The Springfield News-Sun, a local newspaper, reported on September 9 that the police had not received reports of pets eaten or stolen, contrary to the claims shared online.
CNN also quoted a spokesperson for the City of Springfield as saying, "There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."
On September 10, Vance said on X, in part: "It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false."
Trump reiterates 'border czar' charge at Harris
Trump said, "I ask, what about all the people that are pouring into our country and killing people that she allowed to pour in? She was the border czar - remember that. She was the border czar."
There is no U.S. government "border czar" position, as Logically Facts previously addressed after Trump's discussion with X (previously Twitter) owner Elon Musk on August 12, during which he made a similar remark.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is led by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees U.S. border security with agencies including the CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Trump received the most votes out of any sitting U.S. President in history
Trump said, "I got almost 75 million votes. The most votes any sitting president has ever gotten."
This is true. At 81 million popular votes, Biden got around seven million more votes than Trump's 74 million, according to figures released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Trump referred to "sitting presidents," not presidential candidates.
The 2020 election had the highest total voter turnout in U.S. history, according to the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
Trump on the Taliban and U.S. military equipment
Trump said, "We wouldn't have left many Americans behind. And we wouldn't have left, we wouldn't have left $85 billion worth of brand new, beautiful military equipment behind."
A 2022 report said, according to the Department of Defense, that the government spent around "$84 billion in security assistance to the Afghan forces" between 2005 and 2021, of which $18.6 billion funded the procurement of weapons and equipment.
CNN reported in 2022 that an estimated $7 billion of military equipment was left in Afghanistan after the withdrawal.