Donald Trump and Kamala Harris shake hands before their first presidential debate as their parties elected nominees.

Last Tuesday, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris faced off in their first presidential debate. During the debate, Trump made at least 33 false claims on topics including immigration, abortion, and his own accomplishments in office. Harris, however, made one, despite some claims lacking context.

Here is a summary of some of the most notable claims made by both candidates:

TRUMP: Inflation was not present during his time in office

“I had no inflation, virtually no inflation.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. CNN reports that during Trump’s four-year term, the cumulative rate of inflation was around 7.8 percent.

TRUMP: Millions of immigrants from violent backgrounds are infiltrating the country

“We have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. Despite Trump making this claim often, there is no evidence to validate his statement. 

FactCheck.org cited immigrant behavior specialist Pierluigi Mancini, who said “There is no evidence … that demonstrates an increase of immigrants with severe mental illness coming into the country or coming into facilities.” 

PolitiFact also noted that while some migrants may have criminal records, there is “no evidence that they add up to millions.”

TRUMP: Under the Biden administration, 21 million immigrants are entering the country monthly

“When you look at these millions and millions of people that are pouring into our country monthly, I believe 21 million people, not the 15 that people say, and I think it’s a lot higher than the 21.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were around 10 million encounters at the Southwest and Northern borders from 2021 to 2024. An “encounter” is also not equivalent to an individual entering the country. In fact, some are immediately turned away. 

TRUMP: Immigrants are eating pets

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. In real-time, ABC’s David Muir debunked Trump’s claim of migrants feeding on furry friends. 

“ABC News did reach out to the city manager there [in Springfield, Ohio],” said Muir. “He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

The former president replied by noting that he has seen otherwise “on television.”

Yes, television—America’s most reliable source.

TRUMP: China paid the U.S. billions due to his tariffs

“I took in billions and billions of dollars, as you know, from China.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. A U.S. tariff is a tax that does go to the United States, but it is usually paid by American businesses for receiving the goods—not exporting to foreign countries. In other words, the former president’s statement is not true because that’s simply not how tariffs work.

 According to CNN and the US International Trade Commission, American businesses have, in fact, “paid almost the entire cost of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products.”

HARRIS: Trump denied a bill that would have solved border issues

“Donald Trump got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress, and said kill the bill. And you know why? Because he preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: True. In February, a $20 billion plan to strengthen U.S./Mexico border security was introduced. Despite backing from the National Border Patrol Council, an organization that has endorsed Trump, the bill faced GOP resistance and was denied. Trump publicly advocated for its demise, stating he would “fight it all the way.”

TRUMP: The U.S. had the highest inflation in history under the Biden Administration 

“[The Biden Administration] had the highest inflation, perhaps in the history of our country because I’ve never seen a worse period of time.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. The worst inflation rate in U.S. history was 14% in 1980. Under President Biden, the highest inflation rate has been 9.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

TRUMP:  He lost the election due to lacking standing in election lawsuits

“They said we didn’t have standing. A technicality. Can you imagine a system where a person in an election doesn’t have standing, the President of the United States doesn’t have standing? That’s how we lost [the election].” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. In the US, electoral votes determine which candidate wins office. In the 2020 election, Biden won 306 electoral votes, while Trump won 232. 

After the loss, Trump and his supporters filed more than 60 lawsuits to overturn the election results. However, most were dismissed for lack of standing, meaning they did not have an adequate connection to the case they were presenting.

TRUMP: Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Mayor Muriel Bowser are to blame for Jan. 6 riot due to security

“It would have never happened if Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of Washington did their jobs. I wasn’t responsible for security. Nancy Pelosi was responsible. She didn’t do her job.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. The mayor of DC and the speaker of the House are not in charge of Capitol security. The Capitol is administered by the Capitol Police Board, which Bowser or Pelosi do not reside. 

HARRIS: Trump left the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression

“Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.” – Kamala Harris

Verdict: False. In 2020, the unemployment rate peaked at 14.8% due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a global economic decline. Despite this rate being the highest rate since 1939, by the time Trump left office in January 2021, the rate had dropped to 6.4%.

HARRIS: Trump denies climate change

“Well, the former president had said that climate change is a hoax.” – Kamala Harris

Verdict: True. The former president has stated multiple times his disapproval of climate change on multiple occasions. 

On Jan. 29, 2014, he tweeted: “Snowing in Texas and Louisiana, record setting freezing temperatures throughout the country and beyond. Global warming is an expensive hoax!” 

On Dec. 30, 2015, he stated to a crowd in Hilton Head, South Carolina, “Obama’s talking about all of this with the global warming and… a lot of it’s a hoax. It’s a hoax.”

And, if the other two statements were convoluting, on Sept. 24, 2015, during CNN’s New Day he explicitly stated, “I don’t believe in climate change.” 

TRUMP: The US has contributed more to Ukraine than all of Europe

“But you take a look at what’s happening. We’re [the US] in for 250 to 275 billion. They’re [Europe] into 100 to 150.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. According to CNN and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, European countries have provided significantly more aid to Ukraine than the US throughout the entire duration of the war. 

TRUMP: The Central Park Five pleaded guilty

“They admitted — they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately.” – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. The Central Park Five were five minority teenagers wrongly accused of raping a jogger in 1989 (contrary to the former president’s claim of murder). After being coerced into giving false confessions, all five served between five and 13 years in prison. It was not until 2002 that they were exonerated when the true attacker was identified. 

Despite being pressured to give false confessions, the group did not plead guilty. They were convicted by a jury.

TRUMP: Some states allow abortion after birth

“He [Tim Walz] also says execution after birth, it’s execution, no longer abortion, because the baby is born, is okay. And that’s not okay with me.” – Donald Trump

“They even have – and you can look at the governor of West Virginia, the previous governor of West Virginia not the current governor, he’s doing an excellent job. But the governor before, he said, ‘The baby will be born, and we will decide what to do with the baby,’ in other words, ‘We’ll execute the baby.”  – Donald Trump

Verdict: False. Trump’s claim is referring to infanticide, and in no state, is the execution of a baby after it is born legal. 

No governor, including Gov. Tim Walz, has ever advocated for the legalization of infanticide.