Fact-checking Trump's claims during a call with Mexico's president
A transcript obtained by the Washington Post offered new insight into a January phone call between Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and President Trump soon after inauguration. Beyond the president's requests that Peña Nieto stop publicly refusing to have Mexico pay for Mr. Trump's "big, beautiful wall," the transcript also contains some inaccurate statements.
Here's a look at a few of those president's statements:
Trump's reach with Hispanic voters
What Trump said:
"In the latest election, I won with a large percentage of Hispanic voters. I do not know if you heard, but with Cuba, I had 84 percent, with the Cuban-American vote. But overall generally, I had well over 30 percent and everyone was shocked to see this. I understand the community and they understand me, and I have a great respect for the Mexican people."
The verdict on this claim? False
While Mr. Trump did perform somewhat well among Hispanic voters, compared to Republican nominees Mitt Romney in 2012 and Sen. John McCain in 2008, his reach wasn't "well over 30 percent." While Clinton ended up clinching the Latino vote, CBS News' exit polling found that Mr. Trump secured 29 percent of the vote in 2016.
CBS News' Anthony Salvanto later found that Hispanic turnout surged because there are more new Hispanic voters participating in the election process.
Trump's "easy" win in Ohio and Michigan
President Trump: "We lost a lot of factories in Ohio and Michigan and I won these states – some of these states have not been won in 38 years by a Republican and I won them very easily."
The verdict on this claim? Somewhat true, somewhat false
Mr. Trump did in fact win in Ohio with 51.7 percent, with the help of white male voters (68 percent). His margin in Michigan was razor-thin -- just 0.2 percentage points -- winning 47.5 percent compared to Clinton's 47.3 percent.
Trump's crowd size
What Trump said:
"This is what I have been saying for a year and a half on the campaign trail. I have been telling this to every group of 50,000 people or 25,000 people – because no one got people in their rallies as big as I did."
The verdict on this claim? Mostly false
Crowd size has been a data point Mr. Trump often brings up. While Mr. Trump's rallies over the course of the campaign were well-attended, but the largest turnout, The Post notes, would have been his Mobile, Alabama rally, attended by an estimated 30,000 supporters. This is comparable to former Democratic candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who also saw some high rally turnout. One in Portland attracted around 28,000 people, and another in Los Angeles garnered 27,500 supporters.
Trump's claim he won New Hampshire
What Trump said:
"They are sending drugs to Chicago, Los Angeles, and to New York. Up in New Hampshire – I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den -- is coming from the southern border. So we have a lot of problems with Mexico farther than the economic problem."
The verdict on this claim? Somewhat true, somewhat false
Mr. Trump did in fact win the New Hampshire Republican Primary, with his closest rivals trailing nearly 20 points behind him, but it was Hillary Clinton who clinched the state in the presidential election. While close, it was Clinton who edged out ahead with 46.8 percent of the overall vote.
When it comes to Mr. Trump's claims of the state being a "drug-infested den" due to the impact of the country's opioid ongoing crisis, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan called his comments about New Hampshire "disgusting."
