The State of the Union is typically an eye-opening exhibit of how dramatically slanted our "independent fact-checkers" are. An overview of the most prominent traditional national media sites reveals a total of 110 "fact checks" on the president to four for Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.). One might say that Trump spoke much longer, but all four of Spanberger's claims were ruled as solid. Here's the rundown:
PolitiFact promised their usual checking in real time, and performed nine checks on Trump and three on Abigail Spanberger. While Trump's claims drew words like "exaggeration," "mathematical hyperbole," "no evidence," and a "wrong," they avoided the usual "Truth-O-Meter" ruling words. Spanberger's three claims were ruled as ""research supports this number,” "This is accurate," and "Early data supports." (9-3)
PBS reposted these checks on both parties.
National Public Radio made those checks look fair and balanced. NPR reporters performed 28 "fact checks" on Trump to absolutely zero on Spanberger. It began with a "partly true" on the crackdown on illegal immigration. A number of the checks on Trump by NPR weren't ruled false, they were merely explained, like “Congressional stock trading ban faces tough odds for passage.” But like several others, NPR picked battles on "I ended eight wars" and "the United States military obliterated Iran's nuclear weapons program." (28-0)
The New York Times published an amazing 29 "fact checks" on Trump to one on Spanberger. The terms for Trump included "false," "exaggerated," "misleading," "lacks evidence," and if was a tiny bit true, then it "needs context." The Times checked one Spanberger line, and it was "Mostly true." Like PolitiFact, the Times backed Spanberger's claim that Trump’s policies "have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs." (29-1)
They even checked Trump’s sports claims. Julian Barnes confessed: “OK, this is definitely a pedantic fact check. Mr. Trump is probably correct that he has never seen a goaltending performance like Mr. Hellebuyck’s. Sportswriters praised the amazing game he played. However, the Canadian team had 42 shots on goal, and Mr. Hellebuyck stopped 41. An amazing performance, but only 41, rather than 46, shots stopped.”
CNN flagged 22 Trump statements and nothing by Spanberger. Toronto-based Daniel Dale provided most of the "checking." He couldn't stand boasting on gas prices coming down: "Trump claimed gas prices are 'now below $2.30 a gallon in most states, and in some places, $1.99 a gallon.' But no state had an average gas price on Tuesday below $2.37 per gallon, according to AAA; only two states had an average below $2.50 per gallon." (22-0)
FactCheck.org brought its readers 22 "fact checks" on Trump to zero for Spanberger. Like several others, Team FC added "context" on the jobs claims. "Trump’s claim that 'more Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country,' while accurate, doesn’t account for population growth. Job growth slowed a bit last year." (22-0)
So all that adds up to 110-4.
The "no quick fact check of either party" list includes Reuters, USA Today, The Washington Post, Snopes.com, and Lead Stories -- although in the last case LS cried foul on a Loudoun County (Va.) Republican Party video which created an AI-generated mockery of Gov. Spanberger collecting wads of cash from taxes.
