The Republican presidential debate in Detroit was, well, nasty.
It was the 11th time the GOP hopefuls have faced each other, and things got heated as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz went after front-runner Donald Trump and Trump fired back. John Kasich, meanwhile, played nice.
The nonpartisan fact-checkers at PolitiFact worked through the night trying to sort it all out. Summaries of the resulting fact checks can be found below.
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John Kasich said this:
In head-to-head polls for the general election, “I beat Hillary Clinton by more than anybody, by 11 points.”
The RealClearPolitics average of recent polls shows Kasich faring better against Clinton than Rubio, Cruz or Trump.
But focusing on the 11-point margin in his best poll is a bit of cherry-picking.
The statement is accurate but needs additional information.
We rate Kasich’s statement Mostly True.
Donald Trump said this:
Marco Rubio “has the the No. 1 absentee record in the United States” Senate.
Trump’s accurate if we look at the number of votes missed this past year. In that time frame, Rubio has missed a higher percentage of votes than any other senator, including those running against him.
If we look at career truancy records among the remaining presidential contenders, Rubio and Cruz are tied at 14.8 percent absentee rates.
Some former senators have had worse records, including Barack Obama.
We rate Trump’s claim Mostly True
Trump said this:
“We (Trump University) have an ‘A’ from the Better Business Bureau.”
Trump University had an A at some point in the past. Ratings ranged from A+ to D-.
The university had a D in 2010, and under its new name, it had ratings ranging from C to B, with no ratings after March 2014.
Trump’s claim is literally wrong and also ignores the university’s lower Better Business Bureau scores.
We rate Trump’s claim False.
Ted Cruz said this:
Donald Trump has written 10 checks to Hillary Clinton, “and four of those checks were not to her Senate campaign. … It was to her presidential campaign.”
Trump has made multiple campaign donations to Clinton over the years.
Trump ended up making five donations worth $4,100 to Clinton’s Senate campaign and two donations worth $2,300 to her presidential campaign.
The presidential donations were from 2007 and 2009. They were eventually refunded in their entirety.
Members of Trump’s immediate family also gave money to Clinton over the years. His wife, Melania, gave one donation of $2,000 to Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2006. His daughter, Ivanka, gave three donations totaling $4,400 to Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2006 and 2007. And Donald Trump Jr. gave three donations worth $6,100 in 2006 and 2007, minus a refund of $1,700 in 2008.
We rate Cruz’s statement Half True.
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