Factcheck this

Donald Trump called the U.S. "pathetic."

+14 votes
in General Factchecking by Genius (41.0k points)
Donald Trump called the U.S. "pathetic."
https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1754666237399859262
by Novice (640 points)
This claim is misleading because it does not give context. The clip was posted by an account on X called "Biden-Harris HQ" which immediately raises concerns of bias. Secondly, this clip was taken from an interview Trump did with Newsmax Tv and he was referencing the state of our country and not the citizens. More specifically, he was referencing issues with "law and order" in the country.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-says-us-so-pathetic-without-him-president-1867145

6 Answers

+5 votes
by Apprentice (1.2k points)
selected by
 
Best answer

This is true; Donald Trump did say that America is pathetic. This claim could be a little misleading because they leave out why Trump said the US was pathetic but he did say the US was pathetic. According to rollingstone.com, Trump denounced a bipartisan deal that would impose new border restrictions when he called America pathetic for not letting police and border patrol do their work. he also commented, “We’re so pathetic as a country in terms of law and order.” He said, “We have the greatest police in the world, but they’re not allowed to do their jobs.” 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-calls-america-pathetic-1234961990/

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-this-country-just-so-pathetic/

True
by Journeyman (2.2k points)
Your fact check is pretty good overall, I really liked how you included that it's a true yet misleading statement based on how they left out the "why". However, to strengthen this fact check, I would include a few more sources and include who was sharing the misleading statement online.
by Novice (920 points)
Great fact-check! I appreciate that you state that this is misleading as it can be taken out of context. I also appreciate that you went straight to the source and quoted exactly what Trump said in this interview. In the future, it would be better to address your second source, rather than just leaving it as a link. This would make your fact-check more reliable.
by Novice (720 points)
This a quality fact check! It was important that you mentioned that this twitter user left out the why the US is pathetic. I would follow up by finding what exactly he said as why to help this fact check.
by Apprentice (1.2k points)
You did well in proving that Trump did  in fact said that the U.S. is pathetic. I like how you pointed out the lack of reasoning behind the statement, as well as acknowledging the possible misleading information. I would include another credible source that comes closer to where the quote originated from. You used the source of another fact check site which backs up your thoughts on the claim being true.
+6 votes
by Apprentice (1.3k points)
This is true. In an interview with Rob Schmitt, the former president said, “We’re so pathetic as a country in terms of law and order," when talking about a bipartisan agreement aimed at implementing new U.S. border restrictions. According to Rolling Stone, "Donald Trump called America “pathetic” when claiming police and border patrol were not “allowed to do their work.”" Newsweek, the source that released the interview has confirmed this.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-says-us-so-pathetic-without-him-president-1867145

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-calls-america-pathetic-1234961990/
True
by Apprentice (1.2k points)
I like that you went directly to the source. However, couldn't you argue that piece is a little misleading? He did say that America was "pathetic" however it was in a different context. The reel makes it seem like he's calling out every American as worse than other countries. In reality he is just saying we are pathetic in this one issue of border control.
by Novice (840 points)
It is super helpful and direct that you went right to the interview to prove this. I also like that you provided a secondary source as well to reinforce this interview. You even went back to the original source that released the interview. Nice work!
by Journeyman (2.2k points)
I like how you found the original interview with Donald Trump to get context on Trump's statement.  I do feel like the title "Donald Trump called the U.S. "pathetic" could be a little misleading because it did not give the reader any context to the quote. I do like how you found the Rolling Stone article because their headline and subheadline gave the reader more information and context to the quote.
by Novice (910 points)
You probably should state that a claim is true at the beginning of your fact check then go on to explain how its not true. You gave the correct context using the quote but the quote directly contradicts the statement you made. Ive found that making statements are never a good way to fact check things. You might want to want to consider when you might be going into a fact check with a biased answer already in mind.
by Newbie (400 points)
I like that you went directly to the source and continued to still show proof of your fact checking throughout the article and saying why this was indeed true. I think something that I would have done a little bit differently is state the fact last and not fire. Saying it is true right away could raise questions
by Novice (600 points)
This is a very good fact check as not only did you provide links but also quotes from the interview, proving you listened to it or at least read a transcript. The quotes along with multiple links from trustworthy sources is great work!
by Novice (870 points)
Nice fact check! I appreciate you finding the interview and providing quotes as to provide some context clues surrounding this claim. I think others complain that what he said wasn't a fact, which is not what the claim stated, so I'm not sure about the discussion or point they are trying to make. Good job!
by Novice (980 points)
I like that you started off with a strong statement by saying it was true and then transitioned right into a source. The use of multiple sources confirming this claim helps with non refuting it. I also like how you included quotes from the sources. Nice work.
by Novice (660 points)
This is a really great fact check! I like how you provided quotes and supporting ideas around the claim.  I like how you confimed this by usinf reputable sources confimed the content of the interview.
+1 vote
by Journeyman (2.1k points)

During an interview with Rob Schmitt, the ex-president expressed his view that the United States lacks in law enforcement effectiveness. This comment arose in the context of discussing a bipartisan accord aimed at enforcing new border restrictions in the U.S. According to Rolling Stone, Trump criticized the nation, labeling it as "pathetic" due to his belief that law enforcement, including police and border patrol, faced hindrances in carrying out their duties. Newsweek, the outlet that conducted the interview, has verified these statements.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-says-us-so-pathetic-without-him-president-1867145

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-calls-america-pathetic-1234961990/

True
by Newbie (400 points)
I like that you also went straight to the source when you needed to and used a source but also provided a link to the source. I think that was really helpful so that viewers could also click on the links and see two different sources that are reliable and have facts to prove it is true.
by Novice (530 points)
I like that you pulled this right from the source and only used facts. I also like that you gave background on why he said this claim which gives a lot of insight. Well done!
+1 vote
by Apprentice (1.1k points)
edited by

It is true that Trump called the US pathetic. In an interview with Newsmax, former president Trump told Rob Schmitt during a rant, "The country is just, it's so pathetic." referring to the United States. In the same interview, he continues to go on and say, "We're so pathetic as a country, in terms of law and order."

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-calls-america-pathetic-1234961990/

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-this-country-just-so-pathetic/

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-claims-us-just-pathetic-141009569.html

True
by Novice (550 points)
This is a nice fact-check! I thought it was concise and you linked a lot of good sources. However, I wonder if it's worth mentioning in your fact-check how the wording of the original claim is slightly misleading? Because it removes the context of what Trump said.
+1 vote
by Novice (600 points)

This is 100% true. Trump recently did an interview with Newsmax where he claimed America has been "so pathetic" under current president Joe Biden. I found multiple trustworthy sources to confirm that Donald Trump did call the USA pathetic, making my claim feel strong and reliable.

trump-claims-us-just-pathetic-142155331.html

trump-calls-america-pathetic-1234961990

True
by Apprentice (1.3k points)
You did a great job of finding credible sources to back up your claim. I do wish that you would cite quotes from these sources or at least name them in your fact-check so the reader knows what links they may be opening.
+1 vote
by Novice (800 points)

This claim has been verified by Newsweek, but the headline could be misleading. Trump's exact quote was "We’re so pathetic as a country in terms of law and order", and was said in an interview with Rob Schmitt. Rolling Stone made this claim in a recent article, discussing Trump's stance on border patrol.

True

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