Biden Makes Flawed Comparisons with Trump

During a speech in South Carolina on Feb. 27, Joe Biden touted his record as president while criticizing his successor, President Donald Trump. But during his remarks, Biden made several false, misleading, or exaggerated claims.

• The former president claimed that his administration created “2.2 million additional jobs” during his last year in office compared with “185,000 jobs” in the first year of Trump’s second term. But the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that Biden inflated job gains on his watch and undersold job gains under Trump.
• He claimed that the economy experienced “record growth” during his administration, which is not supported by data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. There was higher quarterly and annual economic growth under other presidents.
• He also said that “border crossings” in the U.S. were lower the day he left office than when he entered office. Yes, but total apprehensions of people illegally crossing the southern border in Biden’s last year were still more than double the number in the last year of Trump’s first term.

Biden was in South Carolina to celebrate winning the state’s Democratic presidential primary six years earlier. Biden’s win there helped propel him to the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Assessing Trump’s Claims on Iran’s Nuclear and Missile Capabilities

In discussing his reasoning for launching U.S. airstrikes on Iran, President Donald Trump said, “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American.” But arms control experts have disputed his claim that Iran “soon” could have missiles capable of reaching the U.S., and they say there’s a lack of evidence that the country “attempted to rebuild” nuclear enrichment facilities damaged by U.S. strikes last year.

Trump first made his case for the U.S. and Israeli military bombing, which started on Feb. 28, in two videos that day and the next. In his first remarks, he said, “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.” He specifically focused on stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon.

“It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular, my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. The White House on March 2 sent out a list of 74 times Trump has said something similar, saying in the press release, “This position — rooted in longstanding, bipartisan American policy — guides his actions to ensure the leading state sponsor of terrorism cannot threaten the world with nuclear devastation.”

Legality of Latest Iran Attack in Question

Many Democrats have claimed that President Donald Trump didn’t have the legal authority to unilaterally order the Feb. 28 joint military airstrikes with Israel that resulted in the death of the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Experts have told us that, under an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, congressional approval of the use of military force against another country is required. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives the power “To declare War” to Congress.

However, in practice, several presidents have unilaterally ordered military action abroad without authorization from Congress.

In this story, we’ll look at what Democrats have said about Trump’s latest military order and review what experts already told us in similar past cases.

Claims of Illegality

Not long after the attack on Saturday, several Democrats were quick to criticize Trump’s military operation in official statements or media appearances. 

Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said in a Feb. 28 statement on his congressional website, “President Trump promised no more forever wars. Instead, he has illegally dragged us into another one without congressional authorization and no long-term strategy.”

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia called it an “illegal war” on “Fox News Sunday” on March 1. 

🚨Trump Moves to Replace DHS Chief Kristi Noem, Taps Sen. Markwayne Mullin for Homeland Security Post

President shifts Noem to Western Hemisphere security envoy role as internal frustrations over DHS leadership grow inside the administration.

WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he intends to nominate Markwayne Mullin to serve as the next Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security, replacing current department chief Kristi Noem, who will transition to a new diplomatic security role focused on the Western Hemisphere.

The announcement, made on Trump’s Truth Social platform, signals a significant leadership shakeup at the federal agency responsible for border security, immigration enforcement, and domestic counterterrorism operations.

Trump said Noem would take on a new assignment as special envoy for a regional security initiative aimed at strengthening cooperation with Latin American partners.

“Kristi has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results — especially on the Border,” Trump wrote. “She will now lead our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”

The president said further details about the initiative will be unveiled during a summit with Latin American leaders scheduled for Saturday in Florida.