Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Shepard Smith Fact-Checked Donald Trump's Oval Office Speech Live on Fox News, and It Was Brutal

Shepard Smith Fact-Checked Donald Trump's Oval Office Speech Live on Fox News, and It Was Brutal
Fox News

Ouch.

President Donald Trump gave his first Oval Office address Tuesday night as the third government shutdown of his presidency slugs through its third week.

Trump, desperate to have his campaign promise of a border wall with Mexico come to fruition, went on a gloomy ten-minute rant riddled with falsehoods, which Shepard Smith of Fox News fact-checked in real time.


Watch below:

First, Smith shredded Trump's false claims that undocumented immigrants have been responsible for tens of thousands of murders.

“Statistics show that there is less violent crime by the undocumented immigrant population than by the general population," Smith said. This is true.

Next, in his latest pitch for a border wall, over which Trump shut down the government on December 22, the president said drugs such as "meth, heroin, and cocaine" are pouring over the southern border between ports of entry.

Smith corrected Trump citing “government statistics" which "show much of the heroin actually comes not over the unguarded border but through ports of call," meaning places of legal entry into the United States.

Despite what Trump says, illegal border crossings have decreased over the last decade, Smith added. “There is more outward traffic than inward traffic," Smith said.

And then came the crux of this whole shutdown mess: funding for a border wall. Trump has demanded roughly $5 billion for a wall or barrier made of steel slats, which House Democrats have declared a non-starter.

This is, of course, the opposite of what Trump promised during the campaign; Mexico, he insisted, would pay for the wall. Now, the president boasted, Mexico will indirectly pay for the wall through the latest trade deal struck between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

Except not.

“As for the trade deal he mentioned with Mexico, which he said would pay for the wall,” Smith continued, “that trade deal is not yet complete.”

Last month, Trump said he would be "proud to shut down the government for border security," and as Smith correctly pointed out, it was Trump "himself who said he would own the shutdown.”

Trump also lied when he said law enforcement was requesting funding for a border wall.

The fact that Fox News held truth to power made a lot of people happy.

Like, really happy.

But also exasperated.

Could the right-wing media tide be turning on Trump? That remains to be seen.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Trump's reelection campaign sent out a fundraising email shortly before his Oval Office Address, proving once again that Trump is all about the show and siphoning attention from matters of actual importance - like the humanitarian crisis his administration has manufactured at the southern border.

This is not normal.

More from People/donald-trump

Screenshots of Justin Bieber being hounded by paparazzi
X17OnlineVideo

Fans Defend Justin Bieber After He Confronts Paparazzi For Constantly Hounding Him

Fans defended Justin Bieber after he berated the relentless paparazzi and accused them of only being concerned with turning a profit over valuing people's lives.

According to X17, the "Intentions" singer's retreat to Palm Springs, days before the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, was anything but relaxing as he clashed with the paparazzi for a third day in a row.

Keep ReadingShow less
RFK Jr.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

RFK Jr. Slammed After Claiming HHS Will Discover The Cause Of 'Autism Epidemic' By September

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that scientists would determine the cause of the "autism epidemic" by September, even though scientists haven't discovered a breakthrough despite decades of research.

In a cabinet meeting with Republican President Donald Trump on Thursday, RFK Jr. stated:

Keep ReadingShow less
J.D. Vance and Usha Vance listen to Susan Meyers during his Greenland visit
Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Space Force Commander Fired Over Email Criticizing Vance's Greenland Comments

Vice President J.D. Vance and the wider Trump administration are facing criticism now that Colonel Susan Meyers was removed from her post as commander at Greenland's Pituffik Space Base after breaking with Vance in an email she wrote following his controversial visit to the island territory.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, alongside the Faroe Islands, the only other autonomous territory within the Kingdom. Citizens of both Greenland and the Faroe Islands are full citizens of Denmark. As one of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union, Greenland’s citizens are also recognized as EU citizens.

Keep ReadingShow less
Karoline Leavitt and Scott Bessent
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt Dragged After Making Mind-Numbing Claim About Trump's Tariffs Reversal

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is getting called out after she attempted to justify President Donald Trump's sudden reversal on his proposed tariffs, telling reporters that his actions make sense because he has a master plan to make the world bend the knee.

Trump declared a full 90-day suspension of all the “reciprocal” tariffs that took effect at midnight April 10—except for those on China—in a dramatic about-face from a president who had long championed his historically high tariff rates as permanent.

Keep ReadingShow less
religion signs
Noah Holm on Unsplash

People Explain What Stopped Them From Going To Church Anymore

There's been a perception of a bit of an exodus from religion for the last several decades. But humanity has gone from no organized religions to oppressive religious regimes to rebellion and back again over the last several millennia.

But is the 21st century when religion finally fails to bounce back?

Keep ReadingShow less