Donald Trump Makes A Series Of False Claims During Twitter Rant Against Andrew Cuomo And Letitia James

Donald Trump was in his feeling again earlier this week and vented his frustration against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James in a series of false claims via Twitter.

Trump’s complaints in the tweets were about the state lawsuit against his non-profit, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which was filed last year by James’s predecessor Barbara Underwood. He also made inaccurate statements about former state attorney general Eric Schneiderman, regarding migration from New York state, and about the NRA (National Rifle Association).

The first piece of “fake news” Trump tweeted was about Eric Schneiderman. He wrote that the New York legal campaign against his foundation has been “going on for years, originally brought by Crooked Hillary’s Campaign Chair, A.G. Eric Schneiderman, until forced to resign for abuse against women.”

The real facts are Schneiderman was not Hillary Clinton’s “Campaign Chair,” he was one of more than 100 people on her New York “leadership council,” which included, every Democratic member of Congress from the state.

Next, Trump tweeted, “No wonder people and businesses are fleeing New York in record numbers!” But the truth is, out-migration is NOT record-setting. According to the Census Bureau, NY state population fell by 48,510 in 2018, the biggest decline in the country. As of the end of 2018, New York had experienced an estimated net loss of 1.2 million people on account of migration within the US this decade.

Although the numbers are substantial, New York experienced a much sharper decline from domestic migration in the 1970s, when crime and decay drove people away from New York City. Between 1970 and 1980, the Empire Center reports, the state lost a net 2.4 million people through domestic migration.

In another tweet, Trump claims, “Governor Andrew Cuomo uses his Attorney General as a bludgeoning tool for his own purposes.” He added: “Now Cuomo’s A.G. is harassing all of my New York businesses.” Well, the fact is, there is no public evidence that Cuomo has pushed the state attorney general to take action against the Trump Foundation. Letitia James was directly elected, not appointed by the governor and with no influence by Cuomo.

Then Trump tweeted, “And if they are a victim of harassment by the A.G. of the state, like what they are doing to our great NRA, which I think will move quickly to Texas, where they are loved…Texas will defend them & indemnify them against political harassment by New York State and Governor Cuomo.”

Fact: The National Rifle Association is based in Virginia, not New York. It was chartered in New York, in 1871, so the New York attorney general does have jurisdiction over it. Both Cuomo and James have challenged the NRA; James calling the association a “terrorist organization” and Cuomo calling them an “extremist organization.”

Fact-checking should be in the Presidential handbook somewhere.