Fact Checker video: Donald Trump’s far-reaching but false claim about the Iraq War
, , 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com...-about-the-iraq-war/
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly and falsely stated that he was against the Iraq War "from the beginning." As his repetitions multiply, larger and larger audiences have heard his Four-Pinnochio statement go uncorrected. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump frequently — and falsely — says he opposed the Iraq War “from the beginning,” ahead of the invasion. He uses this as a contrast to Hillary Clinton, who in 2002 voted in favor of authorization for President George W. Bush to launch an invasion if negotiations failed with Iraq over its alleged illicit weapons programs. (She now calls the vote a mistake.)
But Trump’s claim is blatantly false, and has been debunked thoroughly. We awarded it Four Pinocchios, and compiled a timeline of Trump’s comments in 2002 and 2003 about the Iraq invasion, which showed he was not vocal about his opposition prior to the invasion.
Yet Trump has been repeating it in interviews and speeches since September 2015 — to larger and larger audiences who have heard this Four-Pinocchio claim go uncorrected.
We took a snapshot look at just how far-reaching this false claim has been the past nine months.