2 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 14 Number 12


Fact Check: Truth in Trump's RNC speech, like needle in haystack?


prescription drug costs, by a metric Trump has referenced before.


allies


He falsely claimed that NATO hadn’t increased


defense


spending in “over 20 years.” Baloney. Combined spending by our NATO allies has gone up every year since 2015.


Trump said “we obliterated 100% Donald J. Trump


BY BROOKS JACKSON, EUGENE KIELY, LORI ROBERTSON, ROBERT FARLEY, JESSICA MCDONALD, D'ANGELO GORE, REM RIEDER AND SARANAC HALE SPENCER


Summary


National distorted


At the close of the Republican Convention,


the the president


COVID-19, health care, the military, immigration,


“greatest” and “strongest” Trump claimed that


facts on the economy, policing


and foreign


affairs: Trump again claimed he built the


economy


ever. Pure poppycock. The economy has grown faster under other presidents — and so have jobs.


Biden has


pledged “a $4 trillion tax hike on almost all American families.” Biden said he won’t boost income taxes for anyone making less than $400,000 a year.


claimed “further”


The president misleadingly his administration


will cut drug costs and health


insurance premiums. But employer-plan premiums have gone up, and so have


of the ISIS caliphate” in Syria and Iraq. But half of ISIS territory was taken before Trump took office.


The president falsely claimed


he had spent “nearly $2.5 trillion” on “rebuilding our military.” The amount budgeted for procurement over four years is about $600 billion.


He misleadingly claimed that


Biden “opposed the mission to take out Osama bin Laden.” Biden said only that he wanted further confirmation that bin Laden was actually present.


Trump falsely said Biden would


“defund the police.” Biden explicitly said he doesn’t support that.


The president falsely COVID-19-related restrictions


labeled on


flights into the U.S. from China and Europe as a “travel ban,” and falsely claimed the policies were put in place “very early.” A government study said the restrictions on Europe were too late to mitigate the introduction of the virus.


Trump repeated the misleading


notion that the U.S. has tested more than any other country. That’s more


total COVID-19 tests, but the


U.S. has done far fewer tests per confirmed case than many other countries.


“[w]e developed a wide array of effective


He exaggerated when he said treatments,”


convalescent claimed and


plasma, “will which he thousands of lives.”


save thousands There


are only a few known treatments for COVID-19, and convalescent plasma has not yet been shown to be effective.


The president falsely claimed


that America has “among the lowest” COVID-19 case fatality rates and that Europe has “experienced a 30% greater increase in excess mortality” than the U.S.


Trump falsely said Biden was


“talking about taking the wall down” on the border between the United States and Mexico.


“increase


He claimed that Biden would refugee admissions by


700%,” but that doesn’t account for the fact that the president has slashed the number of refugees allowed to enter the country.


left “under God” out of the Pledge of


Trump claimed Allegiance


during the party’s


convention. The pledge was recited in full each night, but left out during daytime meetings of two caucuses.


The president falsely accused Biden of condemning rioters only after the Democratic


convention.


Biden repeatedly condemned violent protests before the convention.


promised


Trump wrongly claimed Biden to


“close all charter schools.” Rubbish. Biden opposes Democrats including


September 2020


funding for “for-profit” schools — about 10% of the total.


Analysis Economy


Not the “greatest” in history: The president repeated the empty boast that he made the U.S. economy the


“strongest” and “greatest” in


world history — before this year’s pandemic-induced collapse.


Trump, Aug. 27: Within three short years, we built the strongest economy in the history of the world.


Trump, Aug. 27: In a new term


as president, we will again build the greatest economy in history.


It’s true that the U.S. economy is


still the largest in the world — but that was true under all recent presidents, and as far back as 1871 by some accounts. But “biggest” isn’t the same as “strongest” or “greatest.”


By other measures, the U.S.


economy has been better under other presidents before Trump.


office, the U.S. economy had been growing The


seven straight rate did pick


Growth: When Trump took for


years. up modestly


during his first three years, but not to any historical high, or even to the 4% to 6% rate he had promised. In fact, Trump’s best year was a 3.0% increase in real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product in 2018 — which fell just short of the 3.1% growth achieved as recently as 2015.


Jobs: Total employment growth


actually slowed down during Trump’s first three years. During those years nearly 6.6 million jobs were added, a


more than respectable number. But nearly 8.1 million jobs had been


TMCF | COBANK AGRICULTURE SPRING SCHOLARSHIP About CoBank


CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the rural economy, delivering loans, leases, and other financial services to agribusiness and rural infrastructure in all 50 states.


Scholarship Overview


The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and CoBank are proud to offer financial assistance to outstanding students attending one of TMCF’s member-schools that include 47 publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). Three (3) scholars will be selected to receive a spring scholarship up to $14,167 for the Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 academic school year (which can only be applied to verifiable costs associated with average tuition and usual fees).


Eligibility Requirements:


• Be enrolled full-time as a junior or senior at a TMCF member- school during the 2021-2022 academic school year.


• Open to students majoring in agricultural business, agricultural economics, agricultural technology, animal nutrition/science, agricultural microeconomics, and all agricultural related majors.


• Current cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. • Able to demonstrate leadership abilities. • Able to demonstrate a financial need.


• Be a U.S. Citizen or legal permanent resident with a valid permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551.


Application Dates


This application closes on October 12, 2020, at 11:59 PM EST.


How to Apply · All Applicants Must: • Provide a copy of the 2020-2021 FAFSA Student Aid Report.


• Provide the transcript (official or unofficial) for your most recently completed academic term-this should include your end of Spring/2020 grades and cumulative GPA.


• Please provide an email address for one recommender to complete a character reference form. They will be required to answer three questions regarding your character reference.


Answer the following questions:


• Written Essay (250 words maximum): Tell us about your intended career path. How will your major and coursework help you achieve your career goals?


•


HireVue Essay (1-minute maximum): Describe your vision for the future of the agriculture industry. What contribution will you make towards that vision for the agriculture industry?


tmcf.org/students-alumni/scholarship/tmcf-cobank-agriculture-spring-scholarship/


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