The CNN GOP presidential candidate debate on Dec. 15 focused almost exclusively on foreign policy and many said it was the most substantive debate yet.
Which is why it's even more important to fact check claims the candidates made during the debate.
FACT CHECK #1
Ted Cruz: "The head of the FBI has told Congress they cannot vet those (Syrian) refugees."
Cruz is overstating comments Comey made in October. Comey said there are challenges and gaps to the process, that there are always risks to admitting people from conflict zones but the process is effective and has gotten more so in the past few years.
But the FBI director never said, as Cruz claims he does, the FBI and other government agencies “cannot vet” refugees.
We rate Cruz’s claim Mostly False.
FACT CHECK #2
Jeb Bush: Two months ago, Donald Trump said ISIS was not our fight.
We found two comments, one from September, and one from July where Trump at least suggested that someone other than the United States fight ISIS. In July, Trump literally said, "That's not our fight."
We rate Bush's claim Mostly True.
FACT CHECK #3
Rand Paul: Marco Rubio “is the one for an open border.”
An open border allows people to travel freely or with very few restrictions between two countries. Rubio doesn’t support anything like that. He was one of the authors of a 2013 bill that included billions for border security and more border agents. After that bill died in the House, Rubio has repeatedly said that the border must be secured before the Senate can revisit changing immigration laws.
The idea that Rubio supports an open border is inaccurate and ridiculous, so we rate Paul’s statement Pants on Fire.
FACT CHECK #4
Carly Fiorina: Military generals 'retired early' after being frank with Obama
Fiorina said that five generals -- Petraeus, McChrystal, Mattis, Keane, and Flynn -- resigned because they all told Obama things he didn’t want to hear. Fiorina might be pushing the point of whether Obama himself didn’t like what they had to say, but two of the men -- Mattis and Flynn -- likely departed over policy differences, published reporting shows.
McChrystal’s story is harder to judge because Obama took his advice. There was friction over policy, but he was removed from his post due to an interview with Rolling Stone that at the very least put Obama in a difficult position.
Petraeus’ departure had nothing to do with policy. He mishandled classified documents and had an affair. Keane retired long before Obama took office.
Fiorina is on solid ground with only two of her examples, and also indicated an Obama involvement that is not proven. That’s shaky enough to rate this claim Mostly False.
Data curated by InsideGov
Data curated by InsideGov
