In a place dependent on immigrant workers, where tariffs are a faraway thought and most of the jobs are on the boardwalk, Wildwood welcomed President Trump on Tuesday as he brought his often-repeated themes of employment and immigration to his latest political rally.
The raucous gathering of red MAGA hat wearing supporters in the tight confines of Wildwoods Convention Center offered a panoply of claims — from his own impeachment to trade and taxes.
Perhaps appropriate for an event of contradictions, the rally was warmed up by a recording of Cowgirl in the Sand by Neil Young, who recently became a U.S. citizen, because he wanted to vote against Trump.
By some estimates, the president has made more than 16,200 false or misleading claims since being sworn in, and a Trump rally is often a showcase for his often-repeated misstatements of facts. But there were assertions both true and false from the podium on Tuesday.
Here were some of his most memorable lines from the Jersey Shore:
On employment
“More people are working in NJ than ever before,” said the president.
That is true. In June 2019, New Jersey’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 percent, the lowest since the state began keeping records on jobs in 1976. It fell to an all-time low of 3.1 percent in September before rising back to 3.5 percent last month.
On his crowd
“There are tens of thousands of people outside,” Trump said about 15 minutes into his speech.
That was false. A NJ Advance Media reporter outside the Wildwoods Convention Center said there were several thousand outside about 20 minutes after Trump started speaking and hundreds left after they realized they wouldn’t getting in.
Blue to Red in Jersey?
Trump claims a “mass exodus” of members of the Democratic Party.
That is false in New Jersey. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who switched parties and threw his support to Trump may have brought the president to Wildwood. But Republicans are outnumbered by registered Democrats by nearly 1 million people (982,115 to be exact), according to the latest statistics from the state’s Division of Elections. Ahead of the most recent election, Democrats added more than double the amount of registered voters (108,615) compared to the GOP (53,311), according to the data.
On taxes
“Nobody’s ever cut taxes like this,” said the president.
False. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which supports efforts to reduce the federal deficit, Trump’s tax cuts were the eighth biggest since 1918. The biggest was President Ronald Reagan’s tax cut in 1981, which was 2.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Trump’s tax bill is 0.9 percent of Gross Domestic Protect. To beat the record, the tax legislation would have to be $6.6 trillion, four times bigger than its $1.5 trillion cost, the committee said.
Trump makes his entrance at the Wildwoods Convention Center. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Adva
A strong economy?
“For years, you’ve been losing your ass with 401ks. Now you’re making a fortune,” Trump said.
Partly true. Despite the strong year for stocks, if you measure from inauguration through Oct. 31 of each president’s third year in office, Obama still comes out on top.
On health care
“We are making health are better and much much better. We are protecting people with pre-existing conditions and we always will, the Republican Party,” the president said.
False. The Trump-backed GOP health plan would remove protections for pre-existing conditions and his administration is suing to get rid of protections for pre-existing conditions all together. In fact, Trump has taken several steps to weaken the existing health care law, and in turn has driven up premiums.
On trade
“Tomorrow we’ll replace the NAFTA nightmare,” said the president of signing ceremony Wednesday of the USMCA trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, calling it a massive win for NJ workers, farmers, union members, manufacturers and everybody.
True. The proposed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would enhance trade with New Jersey’s top two sources of exports, which already support 348,700 jobs in the state, according to a report issued as business organizations seek approval of the deal. The N.J. Chamber of Commerce is working with the state’s federal lawmakers to support the agreement.
On sanctuary cities and immigration
“Left-wing radical politicians support deadly sanctuary cities, Sanctuary city is a jurisdiction that refuses to hand over criminal aliens who are in local law enforcement,” the president said.
False. Actually, sanctuary cities just mean that municipalities won’t hold unauthorized immigrants who have not been charged with a crime.
Trump also said Cumberland County officials set free an “illegal” charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of a child. “He is now at large, free to search for another innocent victim.”
True and False. Luciano Trejo-Dominguez, 33, was arrested Aug. 12, 2019, by Vineland police for the alleged sexual assault of a minor between 13 and 15 years old. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer request that he be held at the Cumberland County Jail after his arrest, but he was released Aug. 23, ICE said.
Cumberland County jail officials said ICE submitted incomplete paperwork that lacked critical information and was not completed until after Trejo-Dominguez was released by the courts. He was arrested again as part of an ICE sweep in September 2019.
Separately, the president said Trump said Middlesex County released an inmate who later “committed a gruesome triple murder.”
True: Luis Rodrigo Perez, a Mexican citizen, was being held on domestic violence charges in Dec. 2017, but released in Feb. 2018 without ICE being notified. He was charged with killing three people in Missouri in Nov. 2018.
On guns
The president said a gun safety bill just passed the house for the first time in a quarter-century. “Your Jersey lawmakers were front and center in the fight.”
True. The House passed its gun control bill since Democrats controlled the chamber two decades ago.
Van Drew voted yes on this. But in 2013, when he was a Trenton lawmaker, he was the only Democrat in the state Senate to vote against 10 gun control measures. He said at the time he believed the majority of his constituents supported his decision.
“The day that I can’t do that anymore is the day I don’t want to be in the legislature, it’s the day I don’t want to be senator,” Van Drew told NJTV News after the 2013 vote. “I understand the goal of the folks that want more regulation is good but the reality is that the gang bangers and the law breakers aren’t worried whether it’s one gun a month, they’re not worried whether there is a different system for registering, they’re not going to register, they’re not getting their guns that way. They’re getting them illegally.”
Staff writers Jonathan D. Salant, Vinessa Erminio, Brent Johnson and Samantha Marcus contributed to this report.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.
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