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Romney, Obama and fact-checking the town-hall debate

Texas

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (left) and President Barack Obama (right) mix it up during the Oct. 16, 2012, debate in New York.

Becky Bowers

By Becky Bowers October 17, 2012

PolitiFact in Washington checked the second preidential debate of 2012. This one was a town hall format at Hofstra University in New York.

How did things turn out? Go ahead and click here to view the updated PolitiFact story.

Debate No. 3 between the two occurs on Oct. 22, 2012, with a focus on foreign affairs.

See updated story at PolitiFact.com.

stated on August 1, 2013 in a letter with other Florida lawmakers to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius:

Says Florida refused to allow the insurance commissioner to "negotiate lower rates with companies or refuse rates that are too high" under Obamacare.

true

true

stated on July 30, 2013 in an MSNBC interview:

Says about NSA data collection: "Every member in both parties who served on the Intelligence Committee voted in favor of this."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on July 25, 2013 in a FoxNews.com op-ed:

Under Obamacare, "75 percent of small businesses now say they are going to be forced to either fire workers or cut their hours."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on October 15, 2013 in an email and social media posts:

Congressional lawmakers earn their salaries "FOR LIFE," which for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi would add up to "$803,700 Dollars a year for LIFE including FREE medical."

pants-fire

pants-fire

Louise Slaughter

stated on October 9, 2013 in an interview on MSNBC:

"Eighty percent of the antibiotics in this country are fed to livestock."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on September 27, 2013 in blog posts:

"Obama Declares November National Muslim Appreciation Month."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on September 22, 2013 in a roundtable on ABC’s “This Week”:

Under economic sanctions, "now Iran is suffering 30 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment."

mostly-true

mostly-true

Betsy McCaughey

stated on September 15, 2013 in the New York Post:

"Obamacare will question your sex life."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on September 13, 2013 in a discussion on CNN's "Crossfire":

"The CDC issued a report commissioned by President Obama just earlier this year, and it found some very inconvenient facts. Armed citizens are less likely harmed by attackers. Effectiveness of gun control laws is mixed. Gun buybacks don't work."

half-true

half-true

stated on September 13, 2013 in posts on the Internet:

Warren Buffett recently said "Scrap Obamacare and Start All Over."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on September 5, 2013 in an interview on MSNBC’s “All In”:

Says he "opposed the president’s decision to go into Iraq" in 2003.

barely-true

barely-true

stated on September 4, 2013 in an interview on Fox Business Network:

Chemical weapons have been used "probably 20 times" since the Persian Gulf War.

barely-true

barely-true

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

stated on September 2, 2013 in a CNN interview:

Says there's a "100-year-old international norm not to use chemical weapons."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on August 15, 2013 in blog posts:

Obamacare provision will allow "forced home inspections" by government agents.

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on August 10, 2013 in a speech to the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa:

Says "President Obama just granted all of Congress an exception" to Obamacare.

false

false

stated on August 1, 2013 in a letter with other Florida lawmakers to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius:

Says Florida refused to allow the insurance commissioner to "negotiate lower rates with companies or refuse rates that are too high" under Obamacare.

true

true

stated on July 30, 2013 in an MSNBC interview:

Says about NSA data collection: "Every member in both parties who served on the Intelligence Committee voted in favor of this."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on July 25, 2013 in a FoxNews.com op-ed:

Under Obamacare, "75 percent of small businesses now say they are going to be forced to either fire workers or cut their hours."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on October 15, 2013 in an email and social media posts:

Congressional lawmakers earn their salaries "FOR LIFE," which for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi would add up to "$803,700 Dollars a year for LIFE including FREE medical."

pants-fire

pants-fire

Louise Slaughter

stated on October 9, 2013 in an interview on MSNBC:

"Eighty percent of the antibiotics in this country are fed to livestock."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on September 27, 2013 in blog posts:

"Obama Declares November National Muslim Appreciation Month."

pants-fire

pants-fire

X posts
stated on June 2, 2025 in an X post:

Target “opts out of Pride month and replaced its Pride collection with an America First Summer display.”

By Gabrielle Lazor • June 6, 2025
Liz Oyer
stated on April 30, 2025 in a TikTok post:

“President Trump has granted pardons that have wiped out over $1 billion in debts owed by wealthy Americans who have committed fraud and broken the law.”

By Louis Jacobson • June 6, 2025
Russell Vought
stated on June 1, 2025 in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union":

“One out of every $5 or $6 in Medicaid (payments) is improper.”

By Louis Jacobson • June 4, 2025
Kathy Hochul
stated on May 5, 2025 in a television interview:

The state budget contains the largest middle class tax cut in 70 years.

By Jill Terreri Ramos • June 1, 2025
Viral image
stated on May 26, 2025 in an X post:

Image shows Ben & Jerry’s is selling “Free Palestine” and “From the River to Sea” ice cream flavors.

By Maria Briceño • May 30, 2025
Brenden Jones
stated on April 2, 2025 in a speech:

“Contractors are being rejected” from providing Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina because of racial “quotas” required by the state.

By Paul Specht • May 30, 2025
Mike Johnson
stated on May 25, 2025 in a "Face the Nation" episode:

“We are not cutting” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

By Loreben Tuquero • May 29, 2025
Donald Trump
stated on May 25, 2025 in a press gaggle:

Harvard University “refuse(s) to tell us” who its international students are.

By Maria Ramirez Uribe • May 28, 2025
TikTok posts
stated on May 24, 2025 in una publicación en TikTok:

El gobernador de Florida Ron DeSantis firmó ley que prohíbe a inmigrantes ilegalmente en el país echar gasolina.

By Maria Briceño • May 28, 2025
Social Media
stated on May 25, 2025 in social media posts:

The Republican tax and spending bill will let President Donald Trump “delay or cancel elections — legally.”

By Amy Sherman • May 28, 2025

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