The second night of the Republican National Convention painted a picture of a compassionate White House in action. But it also showed the blurring of …
The second night of the Republican National Convention painted a picture of a compassionate White House in action. But it also showed the blurring of long-standing traditions, and maybe laws, about not mixing politics and government. President Donald Trump pardoned a man who robbed a Nevada bank and now runs a nonprofit. Trump conducted a small naturalization ceremony inside the White House. Mike Pompeo broke from previous secretaries of state by not only giving a convention address, but doing so from Jerusalem. First lady Melania Trump wrapped up the night with a speech from the renovated Rose Garden, telling a largely unmasked audience seated on the lawn that her husband’s administration has been relentless in its effort to find a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. “Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic,” she said. Before ending her address, she alluded to her husband’s brash reputation. “Total honesty is what we as citizens deserve from our president,” she said. “Whether you like it or not, you always know what he’s thinking.” Her speech didn’t leave much work for fact-checkers, but other remarks from the president’s adult children, a former impeachment lawyer and his economic adviser did. Experts also had plenty to say about top administration officials possibly violating the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that limits government officials from mixing political activities with their official duties. Here’s what we fact-checked from the RNC’s second night. “Biden has pledged to defund the police and take away your cherished Second Amendment.” Both claims are False. Biden has directly said he does not support defunding the police. He said that abuse of power in police departments must stop and reforms are needed. But he’s said police departments should be given the money they need to institute changes. Biden proposed an additional $300 million for community policing. Biden’s plan to end gun violence calls for banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and for the regulation of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act. His plan also calls for a buy back of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. But it does not say the Second Amendment should be revoked. “It’s within our grasp to end our gun violence epidemic and respect the Second Amendment, which is limited,” his plan says. In a heated exchange with an auto worker in Detroit in March, Biden rejected the idea that he supported taking guns away from people. “Biden has pledged to stop border wall construction and give amnesty and health care to all illegal immigrants.” Some elements of this claim are true but need clarification. Biden has said “there will not be another foot of wall constructed” if he is elected president. “I’m going to make sure that we have border protection, but it’s going to be based on making sure that we use high-tech capacity to deal with it and at the ports of entry,” Biden said during an interview aired Aug.6. Biden says he supports a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living illegally in the country; they would have to have paid taxes and pass a background check. Some argue any path is a form of amnesty. The common reference for amnesty in modern U. S. politics is the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, signed by President Ronald Reagan. The law paved the way for immigrants who were in the country illegally to become lawful permanent residents if they met certain requirements, including being in the country by Jan.1,1982. Biden has said that people should have access to health care, regardless of immigration status; he has not said it should be free. A task force comprised of appointees of Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. recommended that Biden extend Affordable Care Act coverage to immigrants illegally in the country who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It recommended allowing additional immigrants illegally in the country to also buy health insurance, without financial assistance from the government.
