Economy & business fact checks

Ivanka Trump’s shoe line is made in China but is exempt from tariffs.

Publisher’s rating: Pants on Fire

Related reporting says Ivanka Trump’s footwear line was being made in Ethiopia, not China. It also reports that she announced she would close the brand. This bears directly on the claim’s assertion about the line’s country of manufacture, but the excerpt does not establish when or where every shoe was produced. The excerpt says nothing about whether the line was exempt from tariffs. It therefore cannot substantiate or refute that part of the claim, and it does not provide enough evidence to assess the claim as a whole.

"We hadn’t had a (car) plant built in years — in decades, actually. And now we have many plants being built all throughout the United States."

Publisher’s rating: Mostly False

“This year, it's going to be over $1.5 trillion (that we’ve) reduced the debt."

Publisher’s rating: Half True

FedNow is a new “monetary system” that’s “going to cost you.”

Publisher’s rating: False

"La nueva ley de condonación elimina $15,000 de la deuda de tarjetas de crédito para todos los estadounidenses".

Publisher’s rating: False

"Medicare goes bankrupt in four years. Social Security goes bankrupt in 12 years."

Publisher’s rating: Distorts the Facts

“The U.S. is sending everyone (a) free $16,800 right now.”

Publisher’s rating: False

"There are a thousand billionaires now and you know what their average tax rate is? 8%."

Publisher’s rating: False

Says President Barack Obama "signed the medical appliance tax bill that forced companies to outsource manufacturing of masks, gowns, gloves and ventilaors [sic] to China, Europe and Russia to avoid the tax.”

Publisher’s rating: Pants on Fire

Jorge Ramos reportó que "los bancos están saldando tarjetas de crédito y liquidando balances de más de $15,000” para evitar otra recesión.

Publisher’s rating: False

“We became a net exporter of natural gas in 2017, and until recently, our exports have exceeded our imports.”

Publisher’s rating: Half True

Related reporting from TotalEnergies’ 2025 energy outlook states that the United States “became a net exporter of gas in 2017,” directly supporting the claim’s stated starting point. The excerpt places that change in the context of US shale oil and gas, but provides no figures or underlying data for the change in trade balance. That evidence does not establish the rest of the claim: it gives no date for when exports stopped exceeding imports, and no import or export figures with which to check that qualification. The supplied excerpts therefore support the 2017 assertion but are insufficient to assess the claim as a whole.

“In my first four months in office, more than two million jobs have been created. That’s more than double the rate of my predecessor, and more than eight times the rate of President Reagan.”

Publisher’s rating: Two Pinocchios

Donald Trump’s tax returns proved he had followed the law and fulfilled his tax obligations.

Publisher’s rating: Premature

The U.S. oil and gas industry has "9,000 permits" on federal land that "they could be drilling right now" to increase production and lower prices.

Publisher’s rating: Not the Whole Story

Build Back Better “would be a huge payday for Chinese manufacturing” and “would fill our streets with cars made with Chinese parts.”

Publisher’s rating: False

Says his plan, which called for “all Americans” to “pay some income tax to have skin in the game,” wasn’t a proposal to increase taxes for some Americans.

Publisher’s rating: Plan lacks sufficient detail

Bank of America just pledged $1 billion dollars to Black Lives Matter.

Publisher’s rating: False

“New York, for all of their complaining, Gov. Cuomo's complaining, has only had a 1.5% decrease in revenue” due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Publisher’s rating: Mostly False

Elon Musk anunció que “está comprando oficialmente McDonald's”.

Publisher’s rating: False

“For African American families in particular, the homeownership rate remains relatively unchanged since 1968, the year the Fair Housing Act was signed into law.”

Publisher’s rating: True