CNN's Fact Check team watched the debate. Here are some excerpts of what they found:
Christie vs. Pence on the border wall
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that Trump "said he was going to build a wall across the whole border" but actually "built 52 miles of wall." Later in the debate, former Vice President Mike Pence used a much different figure, saying that "we built hundreds of miles of border wall."
Facts First: This needs context. Both candidates' claims are defensible; Christie, though, didn't explain that he was talking only about barriers that were erected in spots on the southern border where there had not been any barriers before. If you count all of the barriers built on the southern border under Trump, as Trump and Pence do, then the total is much higher – more than 450 miles.
Here are the facts.
When Christie says only 52 miles of wall were built under Trump, he is referring solely to one category of wall construction – "primary" wall that was built in parts of the border where no barriers previously existed.
When Pence puts the figure in the "hundreds of miles," he is referring to all wall construction during the Trump-Pence administration. The total number is 458 miles, according to a federal report obtained by CNN's Priscilla Alvarez: 52 miles of "primary" wall built where no barriers previously existed, plus 33 miles of "secondary" wall that was built in spots where no barriers previously existed, plus another 373 miles of primary and secondary wall that was built to replace previous barriers the federal government says had become "dilapidated and/or outdated."
While some Trump critics have scoffed at this replacement wall, the Trump-era construction was generally much more formidable than the older barriers it replaced, which were often designed to deter vehicles rather than people on foot. Washington Post reporter Nick Miroff tweeted in 2020: "As someone who has spent a lot of time lately in the shadow of the border wall, I need to puncture this notion that 'replacement' sections are 'not new.' There is really no comparison between vehicle barriers made from old rail ties and 30-foot bollards."
Ideally, Trump, Pence and their critics would all be clearer about what they are talking about: Trump and Pence that they are including replacement barriers, critics that they are excluding those barriers.
From CNN's Daniel Dale
DeSantis on Florida's Black history curriculum
Moderator Ilia Calderón asked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to address the descendants of enslaved people regarding his state's new standards on how to teach Black history in schools.
Calderón: "Florida's new Black history curriculum says, 'slaves developed skills, which in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.' You have said slaves developed skills in spite of slavery, not because of it. But many are still hurt. For descendants of slaves, this is personal. What is your message to them?"
DeSantis: "First of all, that's a hoax that was perpetuated by Kamala Harris. We are not going to be doing that. Second of all, that was written by descendants of slaves, these are great Black history scholars, so we need to stop playing these games," DeSantis said.
Facts First: DeSantis' claim is false. Florida's new standards for teaching Black history do include the clause that Calderón read out.
In July, the Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state's public schools. The standards for middle schoolers include a benchmark that says, "Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."
When asked about the benchmark in July, DeSantis told CNN he "wasn't involved." Instead, just as he did in his response tonight, he deferred to those who wrote the education standards.
"You should talk to them about it. I didn't do it. I wasn't involved in it," DeSantis said at the time.
Pressed further at the time, he said: "I think that they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into, into doing things later in life. But the reality is, all of that is rooted in whatever is factual. They listed everything out. And if you have any questions about it, just ask the Department of Education."
DeSantis has argued that it is unfair to depict the standards as broadly pro-slavery, saying that they are clear and detailed about the evils of slavery.
The new standards have been criticized by civil rights advocates and Black lawmakers. Vice President Kamala Harris also criticized the new standards, saying in a speech in July "they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery."
From CNN's Chandelis Duster
Read the full report.
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