Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have wrapped up their New Hampshire debate in a state where Sanders is leading in the polls.
But those intrepid non-partisan fact-checkers at PolitiFact are still on the job trying to parse political truth from fiction.
Here is what they have found so far:
Hillary Clinton said this:
“I waited until (the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement) had actually been negotiated” before deciding whether to endorse it.
The Facts:
As secretary of state and a member of the Obama administration, it was Clinton’s job to promote the deal, even if it wasn’t finalized.
Nonetheless Scott, her comments at the time were so positive and so definitive, it becomes disingenuous to argue, as she’s doing now, that she didn’t endorse the deal before it was finalized.
We rated Clinton's statement Half True.
Bernie Sanders argued that one of his campaign ads “never said … a newspaper endorsed us that did not.”
The Facts:
Sanders is glossing over the initial version of his campaign ad.
It originally included text that said Sanders had been “endorsed” by the Valley News.
That was later removed after it became clear that the newspaper had made no such endorsement.
We rated Sanders' claim in the debate False.
Hillary Clinton said Bernie Sanders advocated putting “Iranian troops into Syria to try and resolve the conflict there. Putting them right on the doorstep of Israel.”
The Facts:
Sanders did advance that idea on two occasions.
But Sanders’ comments were in the context of a multi-national Muslim fighting force that included nations largely friendly toward Israel.
The statement is accurate but lacks some useful details.
We rated Clinton's statement Mostly True.
Bernie Sanders said this: Americans “are working longer hours for low wages … and yet almost all new income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent.
The Facts:
The issues are whether Americans are working longer hours — on average, they’re not — and whether “almost all” new income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent. A lot of it has, but not “almost all.”
If Sanders were to argue that a disproportionate amount of income and wealth is going to the very richest Americans, he’d be right on the money. But he’s exaggerating.
We rated this claim Half True.
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