The fifth Republican presidential debate aired on CNN and featured Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. During the debate, DeSantis made several claims that require fact-checking.
DeSantis claimed that Nikki Haley was rated 50th in education as governor of South Carolina, while Florida was ranked number one. This claim has been fact-checked and is correct [5de38f49].
DeSantis also stated that former President Trump did not deliver on his promise to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. While Trump did build a barrier along 458 miles of the border, American taxpayers funded it [5de38f49].
DeSantis claimed that Trump added $7.8 trillion to the national debt, which has also been fact-checked and is true [5de38f49].
Haley was criticized by DeSantis for her relationship with China, but her efforts to attract Chinese companies to South Carolina resulted in increased capital investment [5de38f49].
DeSantis accused Haley of supporting a gas tax increase, but she only proposed it as part of a package deal [5de38f49].
DeSantis claimed that Florida has the highest property insurance in the country, which is true [5de38f49].
DeSantis falsely stated that the federal government took in the highest percentage of taxes from the economy since World War II. In reality, tax revenues were lower in 2023 than in 2000 [5de38f49].
DeSantis accused Haley of supporting the ban on fracking and offshore drilling, but she has advocated for fracking and opposed it in Florida [5de38f49].
DeSantis claimed that President Biden let in 8 million people in four years, which is an inflated estimate. Customs and Border Protection encountered about 7.5 million people between February 2021 and September 2024 [5de38f49].
DeSantis also claimed that Russia said Poland and the Baltics are next after Ukraine, but there is no official announcement from Russia [5de38f49].
DeSantis falsely claimed that the Biden administration failed to evacuate Americans from Israel during the Hamas attack. The State Department arranged charter flights to assist U.S. citizens, and Florida also arranged flights to evacuate Americans [5de38f49].
DeSantis misleadingly accused Haley of supporting surgeries for minors, but she has advocated for parents to handle such decisions [5de38f49].
DeSantis correctly stated that Haley defeats Biden by 17 points in head-to-head polls, which is supported by a Wall Street Journal poll [5de38f49].
During the debate, DeSantis made several claims that require fact-checking. DeSantis claimed that Nikki Haley was rated 50th in education as governor of South Carolina, while Florida was ranked number one. This claim has been fact-checked and is correct [d0090966].
DeSantis also stated that former President Trump did not deliver on his promise to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. While Trump did build a barrier along 458 miles of the border, American taxpayers funded it [d0090966].
DeSantis claimed that Trump added $7.8 trillion to the national debt, which has also been fact-checked and is true [d0090966].
Haley was criticized by DeSantis for her relationship with China, but her efforts to attract Chinese companies to South Carolina resulted in increased capital investment [d0090966].
DeSantis accused Haley of supporting a gas tax increase, but she only proposed it as part of a package deal [d0090966].
DeSantis claimed that Florida has the highest property insurance in the country, which is true [d0090966].
DeSantis falsely stated that the federal government took in the highest percentage of taxes from the economy since World War II. In reality, tax revenues were lower in 2023 than in 2000 [d0090966].
DeSantis accused Haley of supporting the ban on fracking and offshore drilling, but she has advocated for fracking and opposed it in Florida [d0090966].
DeSantis claimed that President Biden let in 8 million people in four years, which is an inflated estimate. Customs and Border Protection encountered about 7.5 million people between February 2021 and September 2024 [d0090966].
DeSantis also claimed that Russia said Poland and the Baltics are next after Ukraine, but there is no official announcement from Russia [d0090966].
DeSantis falsely claimed that the Biden administration failed to evacuate Americans from Israel during the Hamas attack. The State Department arranged charter flights to assist U.S. citizens, and Florida also arranged flights to evacuate Americans [d0090966].
DeSantis misleadingly accused Haley of supporting surgeries for minors, but she has advocated for parents to handle such decisions [d0090966].
DeSantis correctly stated that Haley defeats Biden by 17 points in head-to-head polls, which is supported by a Wall Street Journal poll [d0090966].
Source: The Washington Post [5de38f49], Florida Politics [d0090966]