WASHINGTON (AP) — Rallying in Michigan, President Trump bragged about a surging auto industry that isn't surging, a Republican rescue for health care that has yet to take shape, and a "total" exoneration in the Russia investigation that was not offered.
And Trump, as he routinely does, took credit for a veterans health care initiative that his predecessor achieved and ignored the reality when veterans seek treatment — waiting times that still last for weeks.
Here’s a look at rhetoric from his Grand Rapids rally on Thursday night, as well as his remarks leading up to it:
2016 ELECTION
TRUMP, on electoral votes: "We won 306 to 223." — rally.
THE FACTS: No. He won 304 to Hillary Clinton's 227, according to an Associated Press tally of the electoral votes in every state. He routinely misstates the result.
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TRUMP: "We did really well with women." — rally.
THE FACTS: Not that well. He actually lost the women's vote.
About 54 percent nationally voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls, compared with Trump's 41 percent. He won 52 percent of white women, according to those polls.
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HEALTH CARE
TRUMP: "The Republican Party will become the party of great health care. ... Republicans want you to have an affordable plan that's just right for you." — rally.
TRUMP: "If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is out, we will have a plan that's far better than Obamacare." — remarks Wednesday to reporters.
THE FACTS: Republicans may aspire to great health care but they don't have a comprehensive plan for it. And there's no indication that the White House, executive branch agencies like Health and Human Services, and Republicans in Congress are working on one.
Trump's recent budget called for repealing Obamacare and setting hard limits on federal spending for Medicaid, which covers low-income people. Some Republicans say that would be better, because the federal government would create a new program of health care grants to states. But when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analyzed similar proposals a couple of years ago, it estimated such changes would result in deep coverage losses, not to mention weaker insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Trump's budget also called for hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare cuts to hospitals and other service providers, a nonstarter with lawmakers in Congress worried about re-election next year.
The Supreme Court has upheld the health care law twice in previous challenges. The five justices who first upheld it in 2012 are still on the court.
Congressional Republicans are generally trying to steer away from Obamacare spats. Some are trying to focus on areas where they might find common ground with Democrats and the president, such as reducing prescription drug costs.
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TRUMP: "We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions, always." — rally.
THE FACTS: He's not protecting health coverage for patients with pre-existing medical conditions. In fact, the Trump administration is pressing in court for full repeal of the Affordable Care Act — including provisions that protect people with pre-existing conditions from health insurance discrimination.
Trump and other Republicans say they'll have a plan to preserve those safeguards, but the White House has provided no details. And it's a stretch to think they could get a Republicans-only plan passed through Congress with the House under Democratic control.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has unveiled her own plan to shore up and expand the ACA, which would make many more middle-class people eligible for subsidies to help pay their premiums, and also make the subsidy amounts more generous.
Former President Barack Obama’s health care law requires insurers to take all applicants, regardless of medical history, and patients with health problems pay the same standard premiums as healthy ones. Bills supported in 2017 by Trump and congressional Republicans to repeal the law could have pushed up costs for people with pre-existing conditions.