WASHINGTON — Claims by Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton from the final presidential debate and how they stack up with the facts:

DONALD TRUMP: “Hillary Clinton wanted the (border) wall. Hillary Clinton fought for the wall in 2006 or thereabouts. Now, she never gets anything done, so naturally it wasn’t built.”

THE FACTS: Almost, but not quite. As a senator from New York, Clinton did support the 2006 Secure Fence Act, which authorized the construction of hundreds of miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But it was built. Nearly 700 miles of fencing was put in place during President George W. Bush’s second term and the beginning of President Obama’s first term.

The fencing is placed largely in urban areas along the nearly 2,000-mile frontier. It is not the type of wall that Trump has pledged to construct at Mexico’s expense. The fence has miles-long gaps and gates to allow landowners access to their property on the south side of the fencing. Immigrants have been known to go over and around the fence.

CLINTON: Asked about her reference in a 2013 speech to a Brazilian bank as part of her “dream of a hemispheric common market,” Clinton said she was “talking only about energy. We trade more energy with our neighbors than we do with the rest of the world combined.”

Advertisement

THE FACTS: Clinton’s speech in May 2013 to Banco Itau was not simply about energy, but also referenced other forms of open trade, according the partial transcript released by WikiLeaks. Clinton said that “my dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, sometime in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere.” In other transcripts released by WikiLeaks, Clinton cautioned that the rules of such unfettered trade also needed to be fair.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton “has no idea whether it’s Russia, China or anybody else” that is behind recent hacks of Democratic organizations and individuals. “Our country has no idea.”

THE FACTS: Actually, the U.S. government says it does have an idea and has concluded it was Russia who hacked into the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the email accounts of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta and others. Trump’s refusal to point the finger at Moscow is at odds with the prevailing position of the U.S. intelligence community.

“We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement with the Department of Homeland Security.

Top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees say they’ve concluded Russian intelligence agencies were trying to influence the U.S. presidential election. Russia has denied the accusation.

CLINTON: “I want to make college debt-free.”

Advertisement

THE FACTS: Clinton might aspire to that lofty goal, but she has only proposed making college tuition free for in-state students who go to a public college or university. Even with expanded grant aid, room and board can lead students to borrow.

Clinton would have the government pay for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities for students from families earning less than $125,000 a year. Students would still need to foot the bill for housing and food, which makes up more than half of the average $18,943 sticker price at a four-year public university, according to the College Board.

But Trump is correct that government would shoulder higher costs with Clinton’s plan.

Her plan would cost the federal government an estimated $500 billion over 10 years.

TRUMP: “Her plan is going to raise taxes and even double your taxes.”

THE FACTS: Clinton’s college plan wouldn’t raise taxes at all for 95 percent of Americans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The wealthiest would take the greatest hit, though a doubling is highly questionable.

Advertisement

Two-thirds of her proposed increases would hit the top 0.1 percent of richest Americans, the center estimates. The main components of her tax plan: a minimum 30 percent tax on those earning at least $1 million a year, and a 5 percent tax surcharge for those earning more than $5 million a year.

CLINTON: On her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership: “It didn’t meet my test.”

THE FACTS: It met her test when she was secretary of state and she promoted it worldwide.

Hacked emails from Clinton’s campaign showed that Jake Sullivan, her top foreign policy adviser, called her a “big champion” of the deal and worried about how to handle the issue in the face of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ opposition. She later flip-flopped into opposition during the Democratic primaries against Sanders.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.