RNC 2024 Day 4 updates: Trump pitches unity, but revives old grievances in longest acceptance speech in history
Trump leaned into his usual talking points during his RNC speech.
On the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump gave a highly anticipated speech, which he said beforehand would call for unity following his assassination attempt.
However in his first speech since the incident, Trump leaned into his usual talking points, slamming President Joe Biden, Democrats and other critics on a wide variety of issues from the economy, immigration and crime.
For over an hour, Trump went off script much to the crowd's delight. The former president told them he was grateful for their support after his brush with death but argued that the country needed to be fixed due to Biden's policies.
The night also included wild speeches from guests such as Hulk Hogan and Eric Trump, who echoed some of the former president's rhetoric bashing Biden and the Democrats.
Latest headlines:
No, Trump isn't leading in Nevada by 14 points
Trump claimed in his speech that he's leading in Nevada by 14 points. That's not true; according to 538's polling average, he leads Biden by only 6 points in the Silver State (that's still impressive, though!). Even the best poll for Trump gives him only a 10-point lead in Nevada.
—538's Nathaniel Rakich
Fact-checking Trump’s claim that the auto industry is being obliterated
Trump said he would reverse government regulations to encourage the development of electric vehicles, saying in doing so, he’d be “saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now.”
That’s inaccurate. During Biden’s presidency, employment in auto and parts manufacturing had risen by 127,800 jobs through December 2023.
—PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman
Crowd cheers after Trump refers to COVID-19 as 'China virus'
The RNC crowd cheered Trump after he referred to COVID-19 as the "China virus."
The term has been seen as a racist remark against Asian Americans.
Fact-checking Trump’s claim that he spearheaded "the best economy in the history of our country"
During his presidency, Trump said, the U.S. had the best economy in the history of our country, "no inflation," and soaring incomes.
One of the strongest ways to assess the economy is the unemployment rate, which fell during Trump’s presidency to levels untouched in five decades. But his successor, Joe Biden, matched or exceeded those levels.
Another measure, the annual increases in gross domestic product, were broadly similar under Trump to what they were during the final six years under his predecessor, Obama. And GDP growth under Trump was well below that of previous presidents.
Wage growth increased under Trump, but to say they soared is an exaggeration. Adjusted for inflation, wages began rising during the Barack Obama years and kept increasing under Trump. But these were modest compared with the 2% a year increase seen in the 1960s.
Another metric — the growth rate in personal consumption per person, adjusted for inflation — wasn’t higher under Trump than previous presidents. For many families, this statistic serves an economic activity bottom line, determining how much they can spend on food, clothing, housing, health care and travel.
In Trump’s three years in office through January 2020, real consumption per person grew by 2% a year. Of the 30 nonoverlapping three-year periods from 1929 to the end of his presidency, Trump’s periods ranked in the bottom third.
As for inflation being zero, that’s also wrong. It was low, ranging between 1.8% and 2.4% increases year-over-year in 2017, 2018 and 2019. This is roughly the range the Federal Reserve likes to see. During the pandemic-dominated year of 2020, inflation fell to 1.2%, because demand plummeted as entertainment and travel collapsed.
-PolitiFact’s Louis Jacobson and Aaron Sharockman