As you’ve probably heard by now, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz came in first in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses, followed by Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Now we wait while these presidential contenders gear up for the next showdown in New Hampshire. Gardner Selby, of the Politifact Texas fact-checking team, is here with a best-of-the-worst sampling of claims made by the Republican presidential hopefuls.
Donald Trump
In his campaign’s first television ad, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shows footage of dozens of people swarming over a border fence. But the footage isn’t as it seems.
Marco Rubio
Throughout his Republican presidential campaign, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has tried to distance himself from his involvement in a 2013 failed bipartisan immigration bill.
The legislation has proven to be a liability for Rubio because it contained a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and some of Rubio’s opponents say his support for the bill is evidence that he’s not tough on immigration. On NBC’s Meet the Press Jan. 31, host Chuck Todd asked Rubio if he regretted being part of the Gang of Eight senators who authored the bill.
“Look, I tried to fix the problem,” Rubio said, referring to illegal immigration. “This is a real problem. And where are we today? We are worse off today than we were five years ago. We have more illegal immigrants here. We have two unconstitutional executive orders on amnesty. I went to Washington to fix a problem.”
Ted Cruz
When Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was asked what he would do for the millions of people who have gained health insurance thanks to the program, Cruz was quick to describe his take on the health care law’s failings.
“First of all, we have seen now in six years of Obamacare that it has been a disaster,” Cruz said. “It is the biggest job-killer in this country. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, have been forced into part-time work, have lost their health insurance, have lost their doctors, have seen their premiums skyrocket.”
Ted Cruz (Round 2)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was born outside the United States, a fact he willingly offered.
Cruz, who was born in Canada, has maintained there are no constitutional barriers that prevent him from running. And so far the challenges to his candidacy are few and far between. So can Cruz run?
Hear how all these claims rated in the player above.
