There were few false or misleading claims during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. Most speakers made factual statements, shared personal anecdotes, expressed subjective opinions, or offered predictions that could not be independently verified.
Here’s a fact-check of one false claim, one misleading claim, and one claim lacking important context, along with additional information on Project 2025, a conservative think tank initiative frequently mentioned during the convention.
Democrats on Trump and Project 2025
Several Democratic speakers linked Project 2025 to former President Donald Trump. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont referred to “Trump’s Project 2025,” State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Pennsylvania used the same phrase, and Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan mentioned “their Project 2025 agenda” in reference to Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
### What Project 2025 Is:
Project 2025 is an initiative spearheaded by The Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative think tank, in collaboration with numerous other conservative organizations. Launched in 2022, the project produced a comprehensive 920-page document titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.” This document outlines “hundreds of clear and concrete policy recommendations” for White House offices, Cabinet departments, Congress, and various agencies, commissions, and boards.
The recommendations cover a broad range of conservative policy areas, including immigration, healthcare, agriculture, and education. Additionally, the document proposes a significant overhaul of the executive branch to substantially enhance presidential power.
### Project 2025 Overview
**What Project 2025 Is:**
Project 2025, led by The Heritage Foundation and several other conservative organizations, produced a 920-page document titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” in April 2023. This comprehensive report outlines "hundreds of clear and concrete policy recommendations" for White House offices, Cabinet departments, Congress, and various other government entities. The document covers a wide range of issues, including immigration, healthcare, agriculture, and education, and proposes a major overhaul of the executive branch to increase presidential power.
**Timing and Trump’s Connection:**
The document was published when Donald Trump was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination, but before he had officially secured it. Project 2025 aims to help "the next conservative President, whoever he or she may be," to quickly implement its recommendations upon inauguration in 2025.
Although Project 2025 claims no direct affiliation with Trump, he has extensive connections to the initiative. Many individuals involved in crafting the project served in Trump’s administration. In July, it was reported that at least 140 former Trump administration officials contributed to the project, including six of Trump’s former Cabinet secretaries and Tom Homan, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief whom Trump has mentioned for a potential second term.
**Trump’s Stance on Project 2025:**
Trump has stated that he knows little about Project 2025 and has criticized parts of its policy document as “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” while finding other points acceptable. The exact extent of his support for or opposition to the project’s proposals remains unclear. Russell Vought, a former Trump Office of Management and Budget director involved in Project 2025, suggested that Trump’s distancing from the project is a strategic move rather than a substantive policy disagreement.
**Recent Developments:**
### Fact-Checking Sanders on Unemployment
**Bernie Sanders on the COVID-19 Pandemic:**
During the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Bernie Sanders reminded attendees of the dire situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated, “Remember where we were three-and-a-half years ago. We were in the midst of the worst public health crisis in 100 years and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression,” and noted that “unemployment was soaring.”
**Fact-Check:**
Sanders’ remarks accurately reflect the severe economic conditions during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, including high unemployment rates. The pandemic did indeed result in a significant public health crisis and economic downturn, aligning with Sanders’ depiction of the situation when the Biden-Harris administration took office.
### Fact-Checking Sanders’ Claim About the Labor Market
**Claim:** Sen. Bernie Sanders stated that the U.S. was facing “the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression” and “unemployment was soaring” as President Joe Biden took office.
**Fact-Check:** Sanders’ characterization is not accurate. While the unemployment rate did spike dramatically in April 2020, reaching 14.8% due to the initial impacts of the pandemic, the situation had improved by the time Biden took office in January 2021. By then, the unemployment rate had decreased to 6.4%, reflecting a significant recovery from the peak but still showing the lingering effects of the pandemic.
### Pritzker’s Misleading Claim About Trump’s Covid-19 Comments
**Claim:** Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said that former President Donald Trump suggested “in
jecting bleach” to treat Covid-19.
**Fact-Check:** Pritzker’s claim is misleading. Trump did not explicitly advise Americans to inject bleach or other disinfectants. During an April 2020 press briefing, Trump speculated about the possibility of using disinfectants or light treatments as potential treatments for Covid-19, based on information from a Department of Homeland Security briefing. He suggested that scientists explore these ideas, which were immediately criticized by medical experts as dangerous and unviable. Trump’s comments were not a direct recommendation for public action but rather speculative and ill-informed ideas that were quickly condemned by health authorities.
### Sanders on the Impact of the Expanded Child Tax Credit
**Claim:** Sen. Bernie Sanders asserted that the expanded child tax credit cut childhood poverty by over 40% during his speech at the Democratic National Convention.
**Fact-Check:** Sanders' claim is partially accurate but requires context. The expanded child tax credit indeed had a significant impact in 2021. The American Rescue Plan Act increased the child tax credit to up to $3,600 per child and extended eligibility to more low-income families. This led to a dramatic reduction in child poverty, with the rate dropping to a record low of 5.2% in 2021, a 46% decrease from 2020.
However, this enhancement was temporary. By 2022, after the expansion ended, child poverty rates surged to 12.4%, reflecting a return to pre-pandemic levels and marking the largest increase in child poverty since the Supplemental Poverty Measure began. Therefore, while the expanded child tax credit was highly effective during its temporary period, its impact diminished once the benefits were no longer in effect.