President Trump and President Biden were fact-checked multiple times from the Presidential Debate. Here we go through the claims that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made during The Real Debate that his campaign hosted along side the CNN debate.
Economy
“President Trump came into office promising to balance the budget. Instead, he spent more money in office than every president in the United States history combined from George Washington from George W. Bush.”
“(President Biden) He’s already run up 6.3 trillion dollars in debt and by the time he leaves office he’ll have run up more than President Trump.”
Almost
Joe Biden has approved 6.2 trillion of new borrowing but has also approved 1.9 trillion in deficit reduction, amounting to a total of 4.3 trillion so far in his term.
“The interest alone on that debt is costing us more than our military budget.”
True
So far in 2024, 601 billion has been spent on the interest on the debt and 576 billion has been spent on National Defense.
Covid
“These two presidents shut down every business in our country. 3.3 million businesses with no due process, no just compensation.”
True and Almost
The NIH study that records this was analyzing this data found that 3.3 million businesses were closed in April 2020. This indicates that this happened under President Trump. According to the Federal Reserve, many, not all, closures remained until mid 2021.
“They shifted 4.3 trillion dollars upward to this new oligarchy of billionaires that he was talking about. They created a billionaire a day in 500 days.”
True – and some.
Many sources even show more than 4.3 trillion. This source shows 5 billion of wealth was shifted up during the pandemic.
“We ended up having the worst record of, body count, of any country in the world. We had 16% of the covid deaths under these two presidents. We only have 4% of the world’s population.”
True
According to John Hopkins data, we had the highest number of covid deaths than any other country at 1,123,836. Forbes wrote this when referencing that same data, “The U.S. has 4% of the world’s population but recorded 16% of Covid-19 deaths.”
Abortion
“I believe it should be limited, late term, should be limited. Absolutely. That’s what was permitted under Roe v Wade.”
True
During the debate, there was back and forth between the candidates about the limitations, if any, Roe v Wade provided. RFK Jr. is correct when he said that it limited late term abortions.
“That’s what every European country, has the same law.”
With one exception.
Poland only allows abortion in the cases where the life of the mother is at risk. There are five other countries that also ban abortion, but the average person would not consider them countries since they are the size of a small city. See image below.
“52% of abortions in this country, the woman says economic considerations played a key role in her decision.”
True
Percentages change drastically depending on what source you use. For example, this medical paper by Dr. Dawn Stacey lists “not financially prepared,” with 40% and, ‘unable to provide a “good” life,’ with 12%. This equals the 52% Kennedy was most likely referring to. According to this medical journal, 73% of women reported getting an abortion because they could not afford a baby. Point is, Kennedy is correct that a majority of abortions take place because of financial reasons.
“Every million dollars that we spend on weapons provides two jobs, creates two jobs. Every million dollars that we spend on childcare creates 22 jobs.”
The idea is true – more research is needed on the specific numbers.
Many sources conclude the idea that an investment in childcare creates more jobs than investments in defense do. However, I have had a difficult time trying to find the exact data Kennedy referenced to. According to Brown University, a one million investment in federal defense creates 6.9 jobs. They do not list childcare specifically, but they do list education which is usually tied into that. The same investment in elementary and secondary school creates 19.2 jobs.
Equitable Growth noted, “In one economic model, for example, fully subsidizing child care costs so that parents paid nothing rather than an average of $89 per week (in 2021 dollars) increased the rate of maternal employment from 37 percent to 87 percent.17“
Feel free to email info@kennedydebunked.com if you have any additional data.
Immigration
“I think almost everything that President Biden said I know to be, not to be true, including his claim that he was endorsed by the border patrol.”
True
During the debate, President Biden made the comment that the Border Patrol endorsed him. Kennedy then said he knew that was false, and that is correct. The Border Patrol Union posted during the debate, “To be clear, we never have and never will endorse Biden.”
“You know the border, there’s been at least 7 million people who have come across the border. This is without the got aways which are another 2 million.”
True
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, total border encounters are at 8,280,550. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there have been 1,849,515 gotaways between 2021 and 2023. According to the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives, they also estimate roughly 2 million gotaways under President Biden’s term.
“President Biden, when he became president, ordered a stop on the construction of the wall.”
True
On President Biden’s first day in office, he issued a proclamation to stop the construction at the border wall. The Biden administration is currently in litigation over this decision. Plaintiff’s argue that congress appropriated that money for the building of the wall and the executive branch does not have the authority to redirect those funds.
“The two laws that were changed under President Biden, the day they came in that catch-and-release law…”
Kennedy ran out of time during the middle of this statement. Because of that, I will not comment on the validity of it. I will, however, provide additional information.
On February 4th, 2021, President Biden issued a memorandum which essentially reinstated catch-and-release that was revoked under the Trump administration. On President Biden’s first day in office he signed executive order 13993. This order revoked an executive order from President Trump that enforced many aspects of the immigration law. This move is seen to have opened the border on Biden’s first day in office.
“We’re seeing rises in crime that are associated with the immigrants.”
True
The number of arrests have gone up in recent years according to the U.S. Customs and Border protection. Many people believe that crime rate among undocumented immigrants is much lower than U.S. citizens. However, there is competing data on this. The Department of Justice reports, “we observe considerably lower felony arrest rates among undocumented immigrants compared to legal immigrants and native-born US citizens.” This report is from 2020. On the other hand, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports, “64% of all federal arrests were of non-U.S. citizens.” Because of this, I revert back to the U.S. Customs and Border protection.
“The border patrol takes, because they’ve been ordered to not to do their job, you know catch-and-release. They bring them to the Uma airport, put them on a plane to any destination they want… and they pay their ticket. They have an asylum court date seven years in the future.”
True
Dr. Phil interviewed the president of the Border Patrol Union and many border agents about this issue. If you do not believe Kennedy or Dr. Phil, listen to the agents who work at the border below.
Watch Part 1 on Dr. Phil here.
Watch Part 2 on Dr. Phil here.
Ukraine – Russia War
“Putin has been asking to settle this war from the beginning. In fact, he agreed to two separate treaties, the Minsk Accords in 2019. Which Zelensky ran in 2019 and ran promising to sign the Minsk Accords.
True
According to Geopolitical Economy, ‘When Zelensky ran for president, he had differentiated himself from Poroshenko by pledging to “reboot” peace negotiations with the Russian-speaking separatists in the east and “continue in the direction of the Minsk talks and head towards concluding a ceasefire”.’
“President Putin did not go into Ukraine intending to conquer Europe.”
True – at least that is what Putin says.
Tucker Carlson sat down for an interview with Putin in 2024. Tucker Carlson asked Putin, “Well the argument is, I know you know this, is that well, he invaded Ukraine he has territorial aims across the continent.” Putin responded with, “It is absolutely out of the question. You just don’t have to be any kind of analyst. It goes against common sense to get involved in some kind of global war.”
“They negotiated a beautiful treaty in April of 2022. They signed the treaty. The one thing that Putin wanted was that we didn’t put NATO in Ukraine. He didn’t want to conquer Europe. They signed it. Putin was withdrawing his troops. And what happened, President Joe Biden sent Boras Johnson over to Kiav and forced Zelensky to tear up that agreement.”
True
According to the Russian News Agency, ‘”This happened only because the United States had put pressure on them and said that no negotiations must be held,” the secretary of Russia’s Security Council stressed.
Russia pulled out its forces from the Kiev and Chernigov areas. However, the negotiations on the peaceful settlement were totally frozen after that and, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said, Kiev gave up the accords reached in Istanbul.
In October last year, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky enacted a decision by the country’s National Security and Defense Council on banning any talks with Putin.’
The European Conservative states, “Russia was ready to end the war and withdraw its troops in exchange for Ukrainian neutrality just a few months after the invasion began and was refused partly because of ex-British PM Boris Johnson.”
“President Trump was part of it. President Trump gave the first 1.3 billion to Ukraine in 2017 of the first offensive weapons.”
False
According to Defense News, 1.5 billion has been sent to Ukraine from 2014-2019. President Trump eventually sent 400 million after originally stalling its release. This stalling ultimately got him impeached.
“Then he walked away from the intermediate range nuclear treaty with Russia unilaterally.”
True
According to BBC, the US formally withdrew from The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 2019.
Israel – Hamas War
“Hamas, which is a genocidal organization, which has pledged to Israel’s anialation, it’s pledged to the extermination of jews and it does not want a two state solution. It wants a one state solution which is Israel gone. It actually has in it’s charter a provision that says that it is against Islamic law to even negotiate with Israel.
True
According to the HAMA Covenant, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
“[Peace] initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.”
“The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them.”
“Israel is in a five front war with Hamas, which is a proxy of Iran.”
True
According to the same covenant, “the Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement.”
“Israel is the only democracy in the Mid-East.”
True
According to the V-Dem Institute, Israel is the only democracy in the middle east. The rest of the countries have autocracies (absolute power is held by a ruler.)
“Hezbollah is the most proficient guerrilla army in the world and probably in history. Iran is now a super power in the mid-east.“
True
According to a congressional report, “Lebanon’s Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist militia, political party, social welfare organization, and U.S. State Department-designated terrorist organization. Its armed element
(referred to by many in Lebanon as “the resistance”) receives support from Iran and Syria and
possesses significant paramilitary and unconventional warfare capabilities that rival and in some
cases exceed those of Lebanon’s armed forces and police. The United States government holds
Hezbollah responsible for a number of kidnappings and high-profile terrorist attacks against U.S.,
European, and Israeli interests since the early 1980s.”
NATO
“President Eisenhower said in 1959, if we do our job with NATO it will be gone in ten years.”
Almost True – He got the date wrong.
When Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first NATO supreme allied commander, he wrote in 1951 that “If in 10 years, all American troops stationed in Europe for national defense purposes have not been returned to the United States, then this whole project [NATO] will have failed.”
In 1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
“We have double the military budget that we had in real dollars than at the height of the cold war.”
Not double – but close.
In 2023, the US military budget was 851 billion dollars. The height of the cold war is subject to one’s opinion. Some sources say 1962. In 1962, the military budget was 49.4 billion. Accounting for inflation, the 1962 military budget would be 513.7 billion today.
The Constitution
“President Biden, 37 hours after he took the oath of office, was ordering social media sites to censor his political opponents. He opened a portal to the FBI, the CIA, CISA, NIH, DHS, the IRS and other agencies to go in and tamper with the social media sites and take out things that were not politically palatable.”
True
This is well documented in this congressional report and in the case Murthy v Missouri. The court case went to the Supreme Court where they decided there was a lack of standing and the cases will have to be litigated in lower courts. This case has over 20,000 pages of evidence from the Biden administration and social media companies. We will have to wait for these courts to run their course in lower courts.
*The next four claims I do not note if it is true or false. I leave this to the reader since it could depend on how you interpret the law.*
“They violated [Trump and Biden] freedom of assembly with mask regulations that again, the top scientist in this country Anthony Fauci, admitted to congress two weeks ago that they were not scientifically based.”
Anthony Fauci testified to the Covid select subcommittee. In his testimony in response to social distancing, he said “You know, I don’t recall. It sort of just appeared. I don’t recall, like, a discussion of whether it should be 5 or 6 or whatever. It was just that 6 foot is—.” When asked if he looked at any studies for wearing masks, he said, “You know, I might have, Mitch, but I don’t recall specifically that I did. I might have.”
The first amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
“They shut down 3.3 million businesses with no due process, no just compensation, a violation of the fifth amendment.”
According to the fifth amendment, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
“They shut down the seventh amendment right to jury trials by saying you couldn’t sue somebody who was involved in covid counter measures no matter how negligent that corporation.”
According to a congressional report, “Under the HHS Declaration and its amendments, covered persons are generally immune from legal liability (i.e., they cannot be sued for money damages in court) for losses relating to the administration or use of covered counter measures against COVID-19. The sole exception to PREP Act immunity is for death or serious physical injury caused by “willful misconduct.”” Even then, you would not sue the company, but the tax payers will pay out for damages.”
The seventh amendment says, “In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.”
“They shut down the fourth amendment’s prohibition against warrantless searches and seizures with this track and trace surveillance.”
In a paper discussing the security and privacy on covid-19 tracking apps it says, “In most apps, users were monitored and tracked without the user’s consent.” The fourth amendment says, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
