Fact-checking DNC Day 3: See what Tim Walz, Bill Clinton got right and wrong

BrieAnna J. Frank, Hannah Hudnall, Brad Sylvester and Eric Litke, USA TODAY
Updated ·15 min read
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Tim Walz, the Democrats' vice presidential nominee, took the stage Wednesday on the third night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and we followed along to let you know if he, former President Bill Clinton and other speakers strayed from the truth.

Walz, 60, is a former teacher elected to be Minnesota’s governor in 2019 after serving multiple terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to speak Thursday night, announced Walz as her running mate in early August.

Related: Fact-checking DNC Day 1: See what Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton got right and wrong

Tim Walz claim: I was elected to Congress in a ‘deep red’ district  

“So there I was a 40-some high school teacher with little kids, zero political experience and no money running in a deep red district, but you know what, never underestimate a public school teacher.”

Walz was elected to represent Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District in 2006, beating six-time Republican congressman Gil Gutknecht in what Minnesota Public Radio termed “one of the state's biggest election upsets." But Walz’s “deep red” description doesn’t accurately capture a district that has repeatedly swung between parties in recent decades.

The district has been evenly split in the last eight presidential elections, with the caveat that the district boundaries have changed over time (most notably between the 2000 and 2004 elections). It supported Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and Republican Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

The congressional seat has also gone both ways. Prior to Gutknecht’s tenure, Democrat Timothy Penny served as its representative for more than a decade from 1983 to 1995. Walz was succeeded by Republicans Jim Hagedorn and Brad Finstad.

-Brad Sylvester, BrieAnna Frank, Eric Litke

More about Tim Walz and his discussion of IVF, infertility 

“We've got a golden rule: mind your own damn business, and that includes IVF and fertility treatments. This is personal for Gwen and I.”

This is not the first time Walz has discussed his and his wife’s battle with infertility, which he discussed at length in tonight's speech.

"If you've never experienced the hell that is infertility I guarantee you you know somebody who has," Walz went on to say. "And I can remember praying each night for a phone call. The pit in your stomach when the phone had rang, and the absolute agony when we heard the treatments hadn't worked it. It took Gwen and I years, but we had access to fertility treatments."

Though Walz often links their struggles to the subject of in vitro fertilization treatments, or IVF, Walz’s wife told Glamour this month that the couple actually used a process called intrauterine insemination, or IUI. She described her neighbor, a nurse, coming over to administer the shots she needed for the treatment. The couple was married in 1994 and had their daughter, Hope, in 2001.

While IVF involves artificially inseminating mature eggs collected from ovaries in a lab, IUI involves the insertion of sperm directly into the uterus.

When asked about Walz’s use of the term IVF, Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg told PolitiFact Walz “was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments."

-Hannah Hudnall, Eric Litke

Tim Walz claim: He protected reproductive freedom as governor  

“Then I came back to serve as governor and we got right to work, making a difference in our neighbor’s lives ... we also protected reproductive freedom.”

Walz signed a bill enshrining the right to abortion and other reproductive healthcare into Minnesota state statues in January 2023, seven months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“Every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth, or obtain an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise this fundamental right,” the law says.

The White House recognized Minnesota as the first state to codify abortion rights in 2023.

Months later, Walz signed a bill that protected people traveling to Minnesota for abortion care, as well as the professionals providing that care, from legal repercussions from other states.

-BrieAnna Frank

Tim Walz claim: He cut the cost of prescription drugs in Minnesota 

“We cut the cost of prescription drugs.”

In 2020, Walz signed the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act into law, allowing eligible individuals to receive one emergency 30-day supply of insulin for $35 and capping 90-day supplies at $50. The act was named for a man who died while attempting to ration his insulin due to a monthly cost of $1,300.

Walz also passed the Minnesota Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act the same year, providing consumers with information about drug prices in Minnesota through a quarterly list of “drugs of substantial public interest.” The list, intended to decrease cost by increasing awareness, focused on groups of medications where the amounts paid where well above manufacturer list prices.

-Hannah Hudnall

Pete Buttigieg claim: Crime was higher under the Trump administration than it is now 

“As if we were going to forget that crime was higher on his watch.”

The truth of this claim depends on what years you look at and which crimes you count.

The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer shows the rate of violent crime (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) in the U.S. dropped from 395 per 100,000 in 2017 (Trump’s first year in office) to 381 in 2019 before rising to 398 in 2020 (Trump’s final year in office). The data is incomplete for Biden’s presidency but shows the rate dropped to 387 in 2021 and 381 in 2022.

The FBI has not yet released the final 2023 violent crime figures, which come out each October. Crime data expert and former CIA analyst Jeff Asher told PolitiFact the preliminary estimates for 2023 show a violent crime rate that would be the lowest in 50 years.

In other words, the latest data shows the best crime figures under Biden are expected to be lower than the best under Trump.

The murder rate under Trump rose from 6.2 per 100,000 in 2017 to 7.8 in 2020, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The data is incomplete for Biden's term, but it first rose to 8.2 in 2021, then dropped to 7.7 in 2022. So it was lower than Trump’s last year, but still well above earlier in Trump’s term.

-Brad Sylvester

Amy Klobuchar claim: Walz delivered biggest tax cut in Minnesota history 

“Tim has delivered ... the biggest tax cut in Minnesota history.”

Walz signed the One Minnesota Budget into law in May 2023. The package included a tax bill that, among other things, provided a one-time refundable tax credit, a child tax credit of up to $1,750 per child for lower-income families and exempted most seniors from paying state taxes on Social Security income.

The tax cuts were the largest in state history, the Star Tribune reported. The package also, however, created the largest tax hike in state history that sought to raise $1 billion over two years from corporations and wealthy residents, according to the outlet.

Walz’s office also said the bill provided the largest tax cut in state history.

-BrieAnna Frank

Bill Clinton claim: Democratic presidents have created 50 million new jobs since 1989 compared to only 1 million for Republican presidents 

“Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. What's the score? Democrats 50, Republicans 1.”  

This is correct. Since 1989, more than 51 million jobs have been created in the U.S., according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That data, examining total non-farm workers, shows about 50 million of those jobs were created under the presidencies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, compared to about 1 million created under the presidencies of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Those numbers vary slightly depending on whether you give the incoming or outgoing president credit for January figures as the new president is sworn in, and which dataset is used. Jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is similar, showing a split of roughly 49 million to 2 million.

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Economists say a variety of factors outside the control of any president play into job creation or loss.

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“Month-to-month job creation is just a function of the dynamic U.S. economy that’s bigger than one person,” Chris Douglas, an associate professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint, told public media outlet Marketplace.

Republican job creation figures are skewed by events such as the Great Recession, which began under George W. Bush in 2007 and cost Americans more than 8 million jobs, and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that began under Trump in 2020.

-Brad Sylvester

Jared Polis claim: Project 2025 says states have to report miscarriages to federal government 

“On page 455, Project 2025 says that states have to report miscarriages to the Trump administration.”

The Colorado governor is referencing a section of Project 2025 with recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services relating to abortion that also mention miscarriages. It appears to be calling for states to regularly report cumulative totals, not specific instances.

“Because liberal states have now become sanctuaries for abortion tourism, HHS should use every available tool, including the cutting of funds, to ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place within its borders, at what gestational age of the child, for what reason, the mother’s state of residence, and by what method,” the page reads. “It should also ensure that statistics are separated by category: spontaneous miscarriage; treatments that incidentally result in the death of a child (such as chemotherapy); stillbirths; and induced abortion.”

The section goes on to say “miscarriage management or standard ectopic pregnancy treatments should never be conflated with abortion,” which it said should be defined as “only those procedures that intentionally end an unborn child’s life.”

Project 2025 said it is “ultimately up to (the) president ... to decide which recommendations to implement,” though Trump embraced many of the Heritage Foundation’s policy proposals during his first administration.

-BrieAnna Frank

Lisa Blunt Rochester claim: Trump created Project 2025  

“Donald Trump, he has, with his friends, said the quiet parts out loud. Not only said them out loud, he wrote a book about it. What’s it called? Project 2025.”

Project 2025 is a political playbook created by the Heritage Foundation and more than 100 other conservative groups. The playbook, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, is more than 900 pages long and includes policy recommendations for the next Republican president.

But it’s not a direct Trump creation. The Heritage Foundation has said the project “does not speak for any candidate or campaign,” and Trump has called it “extreme” and sought to distance himself some of from its proposals.

There are, however, numerous Trump allies involved in the project. They include Paul Dans, former chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management during Trump’s administration, and Russell Vought, former director of the Office of Management and Budget.

There is also overlap in policy proposals between the two parties, which include dismantling the Department of Education and ending illegal immigration.

- BrieAnna Frank

Jared Polis claim: Project 2025 says the 'only legitimate family' includes a working father and stay-at-home mother 

“Page 451 says the only legitimate family is a married mother and father where only the father works.”

The Colorado governor is misrepresenting the family structures described on page 451 of Project 2025. The Heritage Foundation’s political playbook promotes the idea of “stable and flourishing married families” in this section but doesn’t provide a description of the “only legitimate family” or say anything about stay-at-home mothers.

“Families comprised of a married mother, father and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society,” reads the start of the section.

The chapter goes on to criticize President Joe Biden’s family-related policies and promotes the importance of working fathers and the benefits of paternal involvement.

Though the section doesn’t overtly mention stay-at-home mothers, it suggests providing funding directly to parents rather than providing universal daycare "to offset the cost of staying home with a child or to pay for familial, in-home childcare."

Full fact check: Project 2025 touts benefits of 'stable, married, nuclear families

-Hannah Hudnall

DNC background: Our fact checks on abortion, LGBTQ-related claims

Day 3 of the DNC brings a focus on abortion and LGBTQ rights, dubbed by the convention as "A Fight for our Freedoms."

Here are some of the past claims USA TODAY has debunked in those veins:

-Eric Litke

DNC background: Ukraine conflict spurs debate leading up to 2024 election 

We’re likely to hear about the war in Ukraine at the DNC, as the conflict remains a key issue among Democrats more than two years after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Many members of the GOP have opposed the U.S.’s ongoing aid to Ukraine, arguing that taxpayer funds would be better spent on domestic issues. Meanwhile, Biden has continued to display unwavering support for the country, signing a 10-year security agreement in June pledging military aid for the next decade of its conflict with Russia.

Harris has mostly mirrored Biden’s foreign policy in this respect, denouncing Russia’s “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine and announcing a $1.5 billion aid package that will provide assistance with energy, humanitarian relief and civilian security in the country.

USA TODAY has debunked numerous claims about the war in Ukraine:

DNC background: Israel-Hamas conflict divides voters 

The war in Gaza remains a hot-button issue for politicians and voters alike as the conflict nears the one-year mark. It is likely to be a topic of discussion at the DNC as protestors organize on the streets surrounding the Chicago convention hall.

Young voters and even prominent Democratic donors have expressed their disapproval of Biden’s approach to the war, calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the U.S.’s ongoing military aid to Israel.

In comparison, Harris has been more outspoken about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, igniting hope in some progressive voters.

While Harris has reaffirmed the Biden administration’s view that Israel has the right to defend itself from Hamas, she has publicly expressed concerns about the human suffering in Gaza. In December, she said Israel "must do more to protect civilian life” and in March called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza because of the "humanitarian catastrophe." She said in a December speech in Dubai that “international humanitarian law must be respected."

Conversely, Republicans have criticized Biden for not doing enough to support Israel and have denounced the pro-Palestinian protests taking place across the country. Former President Donald Trump went so far as to say in a March interview that Democrats “hate Israel” and any Jewish person supporting them “hates their religion.”

USA TODAY has debunked numerous claims about Israel and the war in Gaza:

-Hannah Hudnall

DNC background: False claims spread on Walz’s career, record

Tim Walz, tonight’s keynote speaker at the DNC in Chicago, has been the subject of an array of false and misleading claims since Vice President Kamala Harris announced Walz as her running mate in early August.

The Minnesota governor, 60, spent his childhood in Nebraska, joined the National Guard after high school and worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach. He was a coach at Mankato West High School when it won a state championship in 1999, contrary to some posts on social media.

His political career began when he volunteered for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. Three years later, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served multiple terms. He was elected governor of Minnesota in 2018.

Walz was still in office on May 25, 2020, when a bystander’s video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes began to spread online, leading to protests across the country. Walz – not Trump, as some have falsely claimed – activated the National Guard when demonstrations in Minneapolis spiraled out of control.

Harris first introduced Walz during a campaign rally in Philadelphia. She highlighted his role as faculty adviser for his school’s first gay-straight alliance club and his work to pass a bill that protects abortion access in Minnesota after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Here are several claims about Walz that we’ve already debunked:

-Chris Mueller

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DNC fact check: What Walz, other speakers got right and wrong

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