In this week’s video, CNN’s Jake Tapper breaks down three false claims in the first of two Democratic debates on June 26:
- Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke said Purdue Pharma had paid “no consequences” for its connection to the opioid crisis. In fact, the company and its executives have agreed to pay hundreds of millions in fines and settlements.
- Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio said the bottom 60 percent of workers “haven’t seen a raise since 1980.” But Census data analyzed separately by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service and the Economic Policy Institute show there has been a rise in inflation-adjusted wages over that time period.
- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey claimed the Iran nuclear deal “pushed back a nuclear breakout 10, 20 years.” The term “breakout time” refers to how long it would take to produce enough highly enriched uranium for one nuclear weapon. The deal extended Iran’s breakout time from two or three months to one year for at least 10 years.
For all of our debate coverage, see our stories “FactChecking the First 2020 Democratic Debate,” and “FactChecking Round Two of the Democratic Debate.”
CNN’s “State of the Union” and FactCheck.org launched a partnership in 2015 to produce online fact-checking videos. All of the videos are available on our website.