Frank Luntz’s focus group of undecided voters listed their top moment of the debate for Donald Trump’s attack on Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and a “missing” $6 billion that the State Department could never properly account for. Here’s Trump’s quote:
“…when you ran the State Department, $6 billion was missing. How do you miss $6 billion? You ran the State Department, $6 billion was either stolen — they don’t know.”
And the reaction from Luntz’s group:
Trump's top point was hitting $6 billion lost by Hillary's State Dept.
"If he spent the whole election doing this, he'd have it wrapped up" pic.twitter.com/LIBDwr7PPO
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 20, 2016
That might be wishful thinking. Fact-checkers and reporters — FWIW — have consistently downplayed the issue and have ruled that the $6 billion isn’t missing but just not properly accounted for:
It wasn't lost. https://t.co/EjTIo3VCHG
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) October 20, 2016
Trump nailed that thing he said that wasn't in any way true. https://t.co/EWfgl8lCzi
— Max J. Rosenthal (@maxjrosenthal) October 20, 2016
Trump's top point was an assertion that has no basis in fact. https://t.co/CEW1vChF8Q https://t.co/g3kV402KVS
— Chris Potter (@CPotterPgh) October 20, 2016
NEW TONIGHT: Trump says State Dept. lost $6 billion under Clinton. Pants On Fire! https://t.co/FQgEoYivDe pic.twitter.com/Xjehn9i0J4
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) October 20, 2016
From PolitiFact:
Trump said that when Clinton “ran the State Department, $6 billion was missing. How do you miss $6 billion? You ran the State Department, $6 billion was either stolen — they don’t know.”
The $6 billion figure comes from a State Department inspector general report that found paperwork for various contracts had been mismanaged. The $6 billion was not missing or stolen — it had been doled out in a number of contracts — but the paperwork was missing.
We rate Trump’s claim Pants on Fire.
Video here:
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