Checking the facts of Trump and Harris’ claims in 2024 presidential debate.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris faced off in their first presidential debate, challenging each other over their plans for the nation and the economy. The 90-minute debate was hosted by ABC News at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
CBS News’ Confirmed team is conducting fact-checks of the comments Harris and Trump made about each other and their own records and plans.
False: Trump claims “millions and millions of people” are “pouring into our country monthly”
Trump: “[W]hen you look at what she’s done to our country, and when you look at these millions (and) millions of people that are pouring into our country monthly, where it’s, I believe 21 million people, not the 15 that people say. And I think it’s a lot higher than the 21. That’s bigger than New York state. Pouring in. And just look at what they’re doing to our country.”
Details: Encounters of migrants by Customs and Border Protection at the U.S.-Mexico border have reached record levels in the past four years, under the Biden administration. But the number isn’t close to the figures cited by Trump, and not everyone who has crossed the border under Mr. Biden has been allowed to stay.
CBP has recorded over 8 million encounters with migrants at the southern border since Mr. Biden took office in 2021, federal figures show. Encounters include migrants who cross into the country illegally between legal entry points and those processed at these official crossings, known as ports of entry. Encounters do not represent unique individuals, since some migrants cross the border illegally multiple times.
CBP has never recorded “millions” of migrant encounters in a month. The highest monthly migrant encounter tally was recorded in December 2023 when CBP processed over 300,000 migrants.
In addition to those processed by CBP, there are migrants who successfully cross the southern border illegally without being caught. Border Patrol estimates that 1.7 million migrants have evaded apprehension since the start of fiscal year 2021.
Just because migrants were processed by CBP does not mean they were allowed to stay. Many have been released into the U.S. with notices to appear in immigration court. But the U.S. has also turned away or deported over 4 million migrants since the start of fiscal year 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security data.
By Camilo Montoya Galvez
Partially true, needs context: Harris claims Trump would enact $4,000 “sales tax”
Harris: “Economists have said that Trump sales tax would actually result — for middle class families — in about $4,000 more a year because of his policies and his ideas about what should be — [on] the backs of middle class people paying for tax cuts for billionaires.”
Details: Harris is citing an estimate of potential costs if Trump were to implement tariffs on imported goods. Trump has advocated for a tariff of at least 10% on most imports and a tariff of at least 60% on Chinese imports.
By Emma Li
False: Trump claims Haitian immigrants are “eating the dogs” and pets in Springfield, Ohio
Trump: “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, and it’s a shame.”
Details: Officials in Springfield, Ohio, say they have not received any credible reports of Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets, despite viral claims on social media that have been amplified this week by Republican vice-presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance and others.
By Layla Ferris, Rhona Tarrant
Misleading: Trump claims Harris would end fracking in Pennsylvania “on Day One”
Trump: “If she won the election, fracking in Pennsylvania will end on Day One.”
Details: As California attorney general, Harris filed a lawsuit challenging a federal assessment and approval for fracking off the coast of California. She also said “there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” when asked during a 2019 town hall if she would commit to implementing a federal ban.
By Emma Li and Laura Doan
False: Trump claims he has “nothing to do with Project 2025”
Trump: “I have nothing to do — as you know and as she knows better than anyone — I have nothing to do with Project 2025. That’s out there, I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it purposefully. I’m not going to read it.”
By Hunter Woodall and Laura Doan
Misleading: Harris claims “we have created over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs while I have been vice president.”
Details: August data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that since President Biden took office in January 2021, the U.S added around 739,000 manufacturing jobs.
By Laura Doan and Julia Ingram
