Fact-checking Donald Trump’s claims at Butler rally

Former US President Donald Trump on Saturday returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the first assassination attempt against him, to rally his supporters just a month before Election Day.

“Exactly 12 weeks ago this evening, on this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me and to silence the greatest movement, MAGA, in the history of our country,” Trump said on Saturday, referring to his “Make America Great Again” catchphrase.

“For 16 harrowing seconds during the gunfire, time stopped as this vicious monster unleashed pure evil from his sniper’s perch, not so far away. But by the hand of providence and the grace of God, that villain did not succeed in his goal.”

Early in his address, Trump spoke about Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter who had been in the July 13 crowd and whom Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspect in Trump’s attempted assassination, killed. One of Crooks’s bullets grazed Trump’s ear.

A Secret Service countersniper killed Crooks.

Trump described Comperatore as a “folk hero” and called for a moment of silence at 6:11pm, the minute the shooting had begun on July 13. After the pause, bells rang and a vocalist near the stage launched into the song Ave Maria.

Trump’s speech included claims about the Biden-Harris administration’s response to Hurricane Helene, “illegal” immigration and the economy.

We fact-checked him.

Trump claimed ‘illegal’ immigration was the lowest when he left office

Trump: “I love that chart. I love that graph. Isn’t it a beautiful thing? But also beautiful because, look at the number, that’s the day I left office. It was the lowest Border Patrol, the lowest it’s ever been, illegal Immigration.”

PolitiFact has fact-checked the contents of the chart.

Trump added misleading markings on a chart originally posted by Ron Johnson Senator from Wisconsin.

He also highlighted a low migrant encounter total during April 2020 and claimed that was when he left office. But Trump’s presidency ended in January 2021.

That April 2020 period also marked the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when lockdowns and travel restrictions contributed to decreased migration.

The chart also alluded to Trump’s claim that millions of immigrants came illegally to the US from jails, prisons or mental institutions during the administration of US President Joe Biden. Immigration experts said there is no proof that large numbers of people from prisons or mental institutions are coming to the US.

Trump claims $750 aid for hurricane victims too little

Trump: “They’re offering them $750 to people whose homes have been washed away. And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of.” 

We rated a version of this claim false.

US Vice President Kamala Harris has not said people affected by Hurricane Helene will only get $750 from the federal government.

The $750 is under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Serious Needs Assistance programme, which covers immediate needs after a disaster, including “food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies”. Through this programme, the White House said, FEMA paid out more than $1m to more than 1,400 North Carolina households within a day.

As of October 4, FEMA said the Biden administration provided more than $45m “in flexible, up-front funding” to Hurricane Helene survivors. The agency said it has provided more than 11.5 million meals, 3.32 million gallons of water, 150 generators and 400,000 tarps to the affected region.

On October 2, in Augusta, Georgia, Harris said FEMA was also providing funding for home repairs and hotel costs.

Hours before Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, on September 26, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced a new $8bn security assistance package for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Congress had already appropriated the funding for Ukraine.

Supporters arrive before Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5 [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]

Immigration and crime data

Trump: “When you look at the crime, look at the crime, look at the people that are coming in. Murderers – 13,099 murderers, let in over the last short period of time.”

False.

Trump is referring to a figure from a September 25 Immigration and Customs Enforcement letter saying 13,099 immigrants convicted of homicide are not in immigration detention. But that data goes back 40 years; it doesn’t specify that those 13,099 people entered the US during the Biden-Harris administration.

Non-citizens convicted of crimes may not be in immigration detention for multiple reasons. For one, they may be in law enforcement custody serving time in prison.

A 2001 Supreme Court ruling also said people cannot be detained indefinitely. This means people from countries that don’t accept deportation flights must be released into the US.

Greatest economy ‘we ever had’

Trump: The Trump administration boasted “the greatest economy we ever had”. 

False.

The unemployment rate during the Trump administration dropped to levels dating back to the early 1950s. But gross domestic product growth during Trump’s administration was well below that of previous administrations. Other metrics, such as wages and business investment, don’t support Trump’s claim, either.

Harris’s role in border control narrative

Harris “was appointed border czar … she was in charge of the border.”

Mostly false.

This is a repeated mischaracterisation of Harris’s role. Biden tasked Harris with working with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras officials to address migration issues. But managing the border – controlling who and how many people enter the US – is the Homeland Security secretary’s responsibility.

Biden asked Harris to focus on migration’s root causes, including relevant countries’ economic struggles, violence, corruption and food insecurity.

Claims that Harris inflated families’ costs by $29,000 per family

Trump: Harris “cost you $29,000 a family through inflation [and] price hikes”.

Mostly false.

Harris cast the tiebreaking vote on the motion to proceed to a final Senate vote on the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, a coronavirus pandemic relief bill. Economists believe the law contributed to inflation’s increase, but say supply chain shortages and Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine were bigger drivers of the spike.

The $28,000 is a likely estimate of increased spending for items such as food, shelter, transportation and energy. But wages also increased, evening out many of the increased costs – or, depending on the time period, all of them.

Harris’s stance on ICE

Trump: Harris “vowed to abolish ICE”.

False.

In 2018, when she was a US senator from California, Harris said the function of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be reexamined and that “we need to probably even think about starting from scratch”. But she didn’t say there shouldn’t be immigration enforcement. In 2018, Harris also said ICE had a role and should exist.

Trump boasts US has more oil than Saudi Arabia

“We have more liquid gold, oil and gas under our feet than any nation in the world, including Saudi Arabia and Russia.”

False.

The US Energy Information Administration reported that Venezuela ranked first for proven crude oil reserves in 2021 with 304 billion barrels, followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Russia. The US ranked ninth internationally, with 61 billion barrels.

The US ranks higher internationally in coal reserves (number one) and natural gas (number four), administration data shows.

Claims of California banning voter ID requirements

Trump: California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom “has banned any and all ID requirements from voting and registering to vote”.

Mostly false.

California law already doesn’t require the majority of voters to provide ID when voting in person. Senate Bill 1174, which prohibits local governments from requiring voter ID at polling places, was drafted in response to a Huntington Beach, California, measure that conflicted with state law.

People who register to vote in California must provide proof of identity. People whose information is not verified must present their IDs at the polls when they vote for the first time. All people who register to vote in California must sign a notice, under penalty of perjury, that states they are US citizens.

Trump claims Imane Khelif was ‘a male transitioned to a female’

“A young lady from Italy, very good boxer, very, very good. She was all excited, but she played a person who transitioned… a male transitioned to a female.”

Trump’s claim that a boxer “transitioned” to female is unsubstantiated.

Trump was referring to boxer Imane Khelif, who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics. She is not Italian, but is Algerian. The decision to allow Khelif to compete in the Olympics was controversial because a boxing organisation previously disqualified her over a DNA test that supposedly showed she has XY chromosomes. That organisation is no longer recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said, “The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport. This is not a transgender case.”