Fact-checking the third Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton presidential debate
On Wednesday night, presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took the stage at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas to talk about the substantive issues that will weigh heavily on the minds of voters this Election Day.
Below is a running fact check on the candidates' statements at the third and final presidential debate.
9:14 Donald Trump says that Chicago, Illinois, has the strictest gun control laws of any city in America.
In reality, this is a common misconception.
9:19 Donald Trump makes disparaging remarks about partial-birth abortions.
In fact, he once supported the procedure.
9:23 Donald Trump suggests that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency, supports his stance on border security.
In fact, a union of ICE employees endorsed Trump, not the agency itself.
9:26 Donald Trump says Clinton wanted "a wall," suggesting she supports his plan to build a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
This is half-true. According to Politifact, Clinton has never supported a measure as expansive as Trump's proposed border wall, but did vote for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized building a fence around a portion of the U.S. border.
9:30 Hillary Clinton claims that Russia was behind recent cyberattacks on Democratic National Committee network, as well as her campaign.
While U.S. intelligence agencies do believe Russia was behind these attacks, they have not offered any conclusive proof.
9:31 Donald Trump claims that Hillary Clinton refuses to say the words, "radical islamic terrorism."
In fact, Clinton has said "radical islamic terrorism" in the past.
9:35 Donald Trump says he has never met Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2014, he bragged about meeting him during a visit to Moscow.
9:43 Hillary Clinton claims that her policies "won't add a penny" to the national debt.
In fact, that's extremely unlikely. According to the Washington Post, the national debt would increase about $9 trillion in a decade under a Clinton's policies.
9:52 Donald Trump claims that the Islamic State is operating in at least 32 countries.
In fact, according to the Congressional Research Service, the group is operating in far fewer countries.
9:54 Donald Trump claims Obama and Clinton are behind violence at his rallies.
There is no evidence of that.
9:55 Donald Trump says he never acted inappropriately or even knew many of the women now accusing him of sexual harassment or abuse.
In fact, a growing contingent of women have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse, and their claims have been backed by witnesses.
9:56 Donald Trump denies saying that the women who have accused him of sexual abuse were not attractive enough to gain his attention in the first place.
His comments have been documented on video.
9:58 Donald Trump denies mocking a disabled reporter on television.
Trump openly mocked disabled New York Times reporter Serge F. Kovaleski at one of his rallies.
10:04 Donald Trump denies using money from his charity, the Trump Foundation, to settle his personal lawsuits.
In fact, $258,000 of the money was used for such endeavors. In addition, Trump said that all of the money from the Foundation went to charity. In reality, Trump himself personally spent $12,000 of the money on a football helmet signed by former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, and $20,000 of the money on a giant portrait of himself.
10:16 Donald Trump denies that he supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Evidence suggests that Trump actually offered tepid support of the war.
10:18 Donald Trump suggests that Iran is "taking over" Iraq.
In fact, the Iranian forces currently in Iraq are reported by Reuters to be coordinating with Iraqi forces.
10:35 Donald Trump claims, of inner-cities, "they have no education and no jobs."
According to Poverty USA, the poverty rate in metropolitan areas is actually lower than the poverty rate for people outside of metropolitan areas.
