Fact Checker - Trump's claim that he's done more 'by far' than Obama in the fight against ISIS
By Glenn Kessler October 25 at 3:00 AM
“We’ve done more against ISIS in nine months than the previous administration has done during its whole administration — by far, by far.”
— President Trump, in remarks before the Value Voters Summit, Oct. 13, 2017
President Trump has made a variation of this claim repeatedly over the months, starting in July, when he proclaimed: “In five months we have done more against ISIS than anybody’s done since the beginning and we are having tremendous success with that.”
Every month since then, he has repeated the claim, simply updating the number of months. For instance, on Sept. 7, he said, “We have done better in eight months of my presidency than the previous eight years against ISIS.” (Never mind that the Islamic State terror group emerged as a significant force in Iraq and Syria in 2013, when it captured and raised its flag over Fallujah.)
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The Facts
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By the time Trump took office, Islamic State territory had fallen to 23,000 square miles, according to Jane’s. As of June of this year, the Islamic State controlled 14,000 square miles — and it has fallen further since. But far more of the “liberation” of territory, in square miles, took place before Trump took office, including the recapture of east Mosul as well as cities across Anbar province (Fallujah) and key Syrian cities such as Manbij that controlled the Turkish-Syrian frontier.
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The Pinocchio Test
A president taking credit for a successful outcome started by his predecessor is a time-honored tradition. Obama certainly claimed repeatedly that he saved General Motors during the Great Recession, even though he built on steps first taken by George W. Bush.
That still does not make it right. Trump exacerbates the braggadocio by specifically saying he has done “by far” more than Obama, even though he inherited a structure and plan developed by Obama. Experts credit Trump with some tactical shifts that may have stepped up the tempo — though the number of civilian deaths has soared as a result. But in reality, according to several metrics, more was done under Obama.
Trump earns Three Pinocchios.
Three Pinocchios
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/10/25/trumps-claim-that-hes-done-by-far-more-than-obama-in-the-fight-against-isis