**Fact-Checking the Presidential Debate: 'Eating the Pets' and Project 2025**
In the recent presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris held in Philadelphia, Trump made several false and misleading claims, including statements about immigrants "eating the pets" and his association with Project 2025.
This debate marked the first of the current election cycle, following a previous debate in June where Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee. During that earlier debate, moderators adopted a hands-off approach to fact-checking, allowing numerous inaccuracies, particularly from Trump, to go unchallenged.
In terms of economic performance, several key statistics were highlighted:
- The economy experienced a loss of 2.7 million jobs, with the unemployment rate rising by 1.7 percentage points to 6.4%.
- Despite this, average weekly earnings for all workers increased by 8.4% after adjusting for inflation, indicating that paychecks grew faster than inflation.
- Corporate profits after taxes rose, and the stock market reached new heights, with the S&P 500 index climbing by 67.8%.
- Contrary to Trump's promises, the international trade deficit increased, reaching its highest level since 2008, with a 36.3% rise from 2016.
- The number of uninsured individuals grew by 3 million during this period.
- The federal debt held by the public surged from $14.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion.
- On a more positive note, home prices rose by 27.5%, and the homeownership rate increased by 2.1 percentage points to 65.8%.
As the debate continues to unfold, fact-checking efforts will remain crucial in assessing the accuracy of candidates' statements.