PolitiFact: Fact-checking the State of the Union

FORT MYERS, Fla.- President Obama says the state of the union is ‘strong.’ During Tuesday night’s speech, WINK News checked the President’s points. From jobs to oil, we investigated to find out what’s face and what stretches the truth.

It was a first for the President who spoke to the now Republican-controlled Congress. A recurring talking point was that the U.S. has outperformed other leading countries.

“Since 2010, America has put more people back to work than Europe, Japan, and all advanced economies combined,” said Obama.

Our partners at PolitiFact looked at the numbers and found while the U.S. has created the most jobs, it’s not clear if more Americans are actually working. The Bureau of Labor suggests many Americans are giving up and dropping out of the workforce.

So PolitiFact rates the statement that “since 2010 America has put more people back to work than Europe, Japan, and all advanced economies combined” HALF True.

To read the entire fact-check, click here.

In the President’s speech, another common theme was the U.S. growing energy independence.

“We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet. And today, America is number one in oil and gas” Obama said.

But is the U.S. really on top of the world in energy?

When it comes to just crude oil, PolitiFact found the U.S. is actually third behind Saudi Arabia and Russia.

But when they factored in natural gas, the U.S. took the number one spot, so PolitiFact rates the statement that “america is number one in oil and gas” TRUE.

To read this entire fact-check, click here.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, gave the GOP response following Tuesday night’s speech. Ernst urged lawmakers to pass legislation for the Keystone Oil Pipeline project.

“President Obama has been delaying this bipartisan infrastructure project for years, even though many members of his party, unions, and a strong majority of Americans support it,” Ernst said.

PolitiFact found 56-60% of Americans support the project, but it also found some are concerned about building it before reviews are complete, which is more in line with the President’s position.

For that, PolitiFact rates the claim that “a strong majority of Americans support” the Keystone XL Pipeline MOSTLY True.

To read the entire fact-check, click here.

A copy of the President’s entire State of the Union address and additional fact-checks can be found here.