Voice of London

In the light of Trump’s public belief that the caravan of migrants is being funded by the Democratic party, here are a few other theories Trump has publicly announced he believes in.

It’s only a few because, otherwise, this list could go on forever.

1. Multiple vaccines at once causes autism in young children.

Debunked: This theory initially emerged in 1997, based on a study by Andrew Wakefield, a British surgeon. Since then, the study had been discredited and retracted by the journal that published it, and further studies from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed that there is no link between vaccines and autism.

Does he still stand by his comment? Probably, yes. He has not mentioned the relation between autism and vaccinations since September 2015, during a GOP debate, and no reporter seems to be interested in inquiring any further about this issue. However, Bill Gates recalled in a talk this May how Trump asked him in December 2016 whether it would be worth investigating the ill-effects of vaccines.

2. Global warming and climate change are a hoax (created by the Chinese).

Debunked: NASA has an entire website dedicated to global warming and climate change, showing statistics and facts of how our planet keeps worsening in terms of its environmental conditions. Is Trump saying NASA aren’t a credible source?

Does he still stand by his comment? Most certainly, yes. We all saw how he withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement.

3. Around three million votes during the 2016 election were illegal and fraudulent.

Debunked: The US Elections Atlas has confirmed that, within the popular vote, Hillary Clinton received 65,853,652 votes whilst Trump received 62,985,134 votes. This election has been revised multiple times, and the statistics mentioned above are the certified final results.

Does he still stand by his comment? Certainly. In January, he signed an executive order disbanding the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, also known as the Voter Fraud Commission. And, during these midterm elections, he has continuously referenced illegal voting and ‘warned’ the Democratic Party not to do it again.

4. The caravan of immigrants currently on its way to the US border is being funded by Democrats.

During last month’s campaign rally in Montana, Trump said that illegal immigrants were being “brought on by the Democrats” to the United States via the caravan. You can listen to him say this on C-Span’s recording of his rally at 11:48. It’s on video, so he definitely won’t be able to go back on his word here!

While this theory of his can’t possibly be debunked at this moment in time, you can easily make up your mind on whether you believe him and think the caravan is a ploy by the rival political party. However, you can definitely say he still stands by this comment. He can’t seem to stop mentioning it.

Words by Sissi Yi Hu | Subbing by Maria Campuzano

Photo credit: “Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona” by Gage Skidmore, used under CC BY.

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