FACT CHECK: 3 Claims From Trump’s Indiana Rally

David Sivak | Fact Check Editor

President Donald Trump held a campaign-style rally in Indiana Thursday night that focused largely on the economy and recent accomplishments by his administration.

Here are three checks on his claims.

Claim 1: “We have the most jobs available in the history of our country – just came out.”

There are 6.6 million job openings in the U.S., according to a Tuesday press release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics – the highest figure since reporting began in 2000.

“The United States now has a job opening for every unemployed person in the country, a sign of just how far the nation has turned around from the recession that cost so many Americans their jobs nearly a decade ago,” writes The Washington Post.

Despite the openings, not everyone will find a job, in part because of skill mismatches and geography. But it is a job seeker’s market, and employers may have to offer higher wages or other incentives to compete for talent.

Claim 2: “I have a lot of respect for Keith Ellison. You know why? … So when I announced on June 16th, he was being interviewed by George Stephanopoulos on ABC, and in the interview – this was a couple days after I announced – and Keith Ellison said, ‘You know he’s going to win, don’t you?'”

Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, appeared on ABC for a roundtable discussion about six weeks after Trump announced his candidacy for president.

When asked for his take on Trump as a candidate, Ellison warned that he be taken seriously.

“Well, all I want to say is that anybody – well, from the Democratic side of the fence, who thinks – who’s terrified of the possibility of President Trump better vote, better get active, better get involved, because this man has some momentum, and we better be ready for the fact that he might be leading the Republican ticket,” said Ellison.

His remark was met with laughter. “I know you don’t believe that,” replied ABC host George Stephanopolous.

Ellison later recounted why he felt that way. “The [Jesse] Ventura win taught me not to dismiss the long shot,” he told WaPo. “There is an appeal to someone who is portrayed as an ‘outsider’ who will speak for working families.”

Claim 3: “Our economy is almost twice the size of any other economy of any other nation in the world.”

The U.S. has the world’s largest economy at $20.4 trillion in GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Trump forgets China, however, which ranks second at $14.1 trillion – certainly more than half the size of the U.S. Japan places a distant third at $5.2 trillion.

The World Bank and United Nations report similar figures.

The U.S. may have the biggest economy in raw terms, but China surpassed the U.S. in 2014 based on what’s called “purchasing power parity,” a measure of GDP that adjusts for price differences among countries.

“In simple terms, this means that because your money stretches further in China than it would in the US, China’s GDP is adjusted upwards,” reads an article by the World Economic Forum.

The U.S. will fall to third place by 2050, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCooper. China will rank first and India will hold second place.

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David Sivak

Fact Check Editor
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