President Donald Trump recently sent federal troops to combat crime in Washington, D.C. Last week, he claimed his mission had been accomplished.
“Washington, D.C. is a totally safe city. You’re not reporting any crime because there is none,” Trump said during Sept. 3 comments in the Oval Office. “They said crime is down 87%, and I said, ‘No it’s not. It’s down 100%.’”
But that’s not accurate, according to CNN. Although there has been a drop in crime since the federal takeover, it has not been eliminated. Hundreds of offenses have still been reported since the National Guard was deployed on Aug. 12.
Over the last two weeks, overall reported crime in the nation’s capital was nearly 28% lower than it was before Trump sent in federal troops. Violent crime was down about 7%. However, that still meant that overall there were 790 offenses and 85 violent offenses during that time.
“That’s not ‘none,’” CNN said.
The president also took credit for Washington, D.C.,’s streak of 12 days without a murder. When the streak was at 11 days, Trump said it has been “years” since that has happened.
“If you go back and check, it’s been many years since we went a week without having a murder,” Trump said Aug. 25 from the White House.
Actually, Washington, D.C., experienced a 16-day streak without a murder earlier this year.
No plans for stimulus checks
Some social media posts recently have claimed the checks are in the mail.
According to online rumors, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have approved $1,390 stimulus checks that will be distributed to low- and middle-income taxpayers by the end of the summer, The Associated Press said.
But that is false, the AP said. No stimulus payments have been approved.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has introduced the American Worker Rebate Act, a bill to give tax rebates using funds from tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump. But that bill hasn’t been passed by the Senate or the House of Representatives.
Stimulus checks need to be approved by Congress. Recent bills which sent money to taxpayers include the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the COVID-related Tax Relief Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Trump’s schedule not suspended
A Sept. 1 social media post on X offers claims about President Donald Trump’s health.
“In the past few hours speculation has spread suggesting that something extremely serious may have happened to President Donald Trump,” a narrator said on a video displaying various images of the president. “It all began when the president’s official schedule was suddenly suspended without any convincing explanation, sparking doubts about his true state of health.”
But that claim is fake, according to PolitiFact. Trump’s schedule was not suspended. Trump kept a light but regular schedule over the holiday weekend.
The president’s schedule from Aug. 25 to Sept. 2, which was released to the public, included events such as a televised Cabinet meeting, lunch with Vice President JD Vance, signing executive orders, and spending time with his grandchildren at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C.
Video not a disgruntled migrant
A video posted on social media appears to show an illegal migrant in rage.
“UK illegal migrant loses his temper as store that gives illegal migrants free PlayStation 5's on behalf of Oxford city council runs out,” headlines a clip of a man knocking over displays in a store.
But this claim is way off, according to Reuters. The video doesn’t show a migrant in England who is upset about not receiving a free PlayStation.
A spokesperson from the Oxford City Council told Reuters that the English Authority doesn’t give out free PlayStations.
However, the video has nothing to do with England.
The clip was taken and posted in November 2018 when a man, who appeared to be angry, was pushing over displays at a GameStop in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.