Checking the facts from Hillary Clinton's speech

In her speech accepting the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton wrongly implied Donald Trump has proposed banning Islam in America and sketched out a plan for defeating Islamic State militants that merely mirrors what the U.S. is already trying to do.

Clinton spoke Thursday night to the largest TV audience she is likely to have until the presidential debates, meaning many Americans were probably hearing of her agenda for the first time.

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Although she brings plenty of policy detail when stacked against the broad-brush ideas of her Republican rival, in some cases there's less than meets the eye to what she says she will do.

The Associated Press looked at some of the claims from Clinton's acceptance speech:

On ISIS

"I've laid out my strategy for defeating ISIS. We will strike their sanctuaries from the air, and support local forces taking them out on the ground. We will surge our intelligence so that we detect and prevent attacks before they happen. We will disrupt their efforts online to reach and radicalize young people in our country. It won't be easy or quick, but make no mistake we will prevail."

The facts: Clinton might as well have said she laid out President Barack Obama's strategy for defeating Islamic State militants. Everything she mentioned, the Obama administration already is trying to do.

On college tuition

Hillary Clinton appeals to Sanders supporters

8 years ago

Duration 1:44

In her acceptance speech, Clinton asks Bernie Sanders supporters to help "bring real change to America."

"Bernie Sanders and I will work together to make college tuition-free for the middle class and debt-free for all."

The facts: Tuition-free for students who go to an in-state public college or university. Debt-free is a harder lift.

Clinton has adopted parts of Sanders' plans to defray some of the costs of higher education. Under her proposal, the government would pay for tuition at in-state colleges and universities for students from families earning less than $125,000 a year. That would leave students still bearing the cost of room and board, which makes up more than half of the average $18,943 sticker price at a four-year public university, according to the College Board.

Experts worry about other impacts: Will colleges raise tuition once the government starts paying, increasing the cost to taxpayers? Will more students flock to public colleges because of the subsidy, also raising costs?

On job creation

Clinton highlights her plans to create jobs

8 years ago

Duration 1:32

Hillary Clinton contrasts her promises to those of Donald Trump.

"In my first 100 days, we will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II."

The facts: It would be the biggest since World War II only if you don't count Obama's $814 billion stimulus in 2009. Clinton doesn't have price tags on all her proposals, but the bulk of the investment appears to be her plan to spend $275 billion over five years on roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Obama's stimulus included infrastructure as well as tax cuts and aid to state and local governments, all intended to boost the economy and hiring.

On Islam

"We will not ban a religion."

The facts: Trump never proposed banning Islam in the U.S., as Clinton seems to suggest. He proposed a freeze on the entry of all foreign Muslims into the U.S., then adapted the idea with several iterations. Recently he said he'd stop immigration from any country compromised by terrorism, or impose "extreme vetting" on people coming from places with a history of terrorism. He's also spoken in support of surveillance on mosques in the U.S. As contentious as his thinking has been on the subject, it hasn't extended it to outlawing a religion.

On taxing the wealthy and corporations

"Because when more than 90 per cent of the gains have gone to the top one per cent, that's where the money is."

The facts: While vague, Clinton's claim probably relies on outdated figures and exaggerates inequality.

Her assertion echoes similar claims made by Sanders during the primary campaign, though it's not clear if she is referring to income or wealth or over what time frame. According to Emmanuel Saez, the University of California at Berkeley economist whose research on the wealthiest one per cent helped spark the Occupy Wall Street protests, income gains have been more widely shared in recent years.

The top one per cent captured 52 per cent of the growth in incomes from 2009 through 2015, still a hefty amount. But that's down from the 2009 through 2012 period, when the top one per cent captured 91 per cent of the growth.

On Trump paying bills

"In Atlantic City, 60 miles from here, you'll find contractors and small businesses who lost everything because Donald Trump refused to pay his bills. People who did the work and needed the money, and didn't get it not because he couldn't pay them, but because he wouldn't pay them."

The facts: Indeed, Trump casinos failed on several occasions. During the bankruptcy of the Taj Mahal Casino in the early 1990s, some contractors who'd helped Trump build the property went bust because Trump's company didn't pay what it owed them. Trump himself was short on cash at the time, though his bankers did give him a $450,000-a-month allowance to maintain his lifestyle while his debts were renegotiated.

On her career path

In a video before Clinton's speech, narrator Morgan Freeman said: "She could have joined a big law firm, been a corporate bigwig. Instead she chose the Children's Defence Fund. There, she went door-to-doorgathering stories to help children with disabilities over denied schooling."

The facts: She had a "bigwig" path in her legal career, too. Although Clinton did devote her early career years to the Children's Defence Fund, she also worked at the Rose Law Firm, a prestigious Little Rock, Ark., firm and the third oldest in the United States. Clinton became its first female partner when herhusband, Bill, was the state attorney general and then governor. Among the firm's clients were Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart and several brokerage houses. It became well-known during the Whitewater scandal, when investigators probed real estate deals between the Clintons and a Rose client, Jim McDougal.

On Trump products

Clinton: Trump can start by 'making things in America again'

8 years ago

Duration 1:57

Hillary Clinton accuses Donald Trump of hypocrisy in his business practices.

"Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again well, he could start by actually making things in America again."

The facts: Trump has regularly sourced his branded products from overseas, including his menswear line and products for his hotels. Trump has defended himself on the grounds that as a private businessman his priority is to make money. But in stump speeches, Trump has regularly shamed companies like Apple for doing the same and manufacturing products elsewhere.

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