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Clinton vs. Trump: 36 Fact Checks From the Final 2016 Presidential Debate

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton faced off in a 90-minute debate that brought up dozens of inaccuracies. We fact checked both candidates.
Image: Trump speaks at the final presidential debate
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (R) and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speak during the final presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas on Oct. 19, 2016.MARK RALSTON / AFP - Getty Images

In their third and final debate, the two candidates didn't disappoint our ready and waiting fact check team at NBC News and PolitiFact. In a wild 90-minute debate, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton brought up dozens of inaccuracies, half truths, and a few surprising truths.

We fact checked the whole thing. Here's what we found.

1. Trump said the election is "rigged." It's not.

2. Trump said Justice Ginsburg insulted his supporters. She didn’t.

3. Trump said Ginsburg apologized. She didn't, she said her comments were “ill advised.”

4. Clinton said she opposed a Supreme Court ruling on guns because the overturned law was trying to protect toddlers. It did involve kids, but that’s not all the law did.

5. Clinton said her plan won't add a penny to the debt. That's unlikely.

6. Trump said that Clinton supports all kinds of abortion, including ripping “the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth.” That’s mostly false.

7. Trump said Clinton wants open borders. She doesn’t.

8. Clinton said she was talking about energy when she mentioned “open borders” in a private speech. That appears to be true.

9. Trump said ICE endorsed him. They didn’t, a union of some employees did.

10. Trump said he could bring GDP higher than 4 percent. Experts disagree.

11. Trump said the U.S. needs to focus on getting the “bad hombres” out. That’s current U.S. policy.

12. Clinton claimed Trump said a “few weeks ago” that he wanted to deport everyone. He said that ten weeks ago, and has since taken two other stances and refused to rule out a pathway to citizenship.

13.Trump said Clinton supported building a wall with Mexico in 2006. She voted in favor of 700 miles of fencing on the 1,989-mile-long border.

14. Clinton said Trump Tower was built with undocumented laborers. It was, though Trump didn’t personally hire them.

15. Clinton said Trump encouraged Russia to spy on Americans. He encouraged Russia to spy on her, but not other Americans.

16. Trump said Putin is not his best friend. In 2013, he wondered if Putin might become his best friend though.

17. Trump said he doesn’t know Putin. He repeatedly said he did.

18. Trump said “Hillary, you have no idea” that Russia is behind her campaign manager’s hack. U.S. intelligence says it is.

19. Trump said it’s a lie to say he’s advocated for more countries to get nuclear arms (he has) and that he’s asked why the U.S. can’t use its nuclear arms (he reportedly has.)

20. Trump said he didn’t say his accuser’s looks undermined her sexual misconduct claim against him. Here’s a video of him doing that.

21. Trump said the Mosul invasion was launched to make her look good. It wasn’t.

22. Trump said he didn’t know any of his accusers. He did.

23. Trump said his accusers claims have been debunked. They haven’t.

24. Trump said he didn’t mock a disabled reporter. Here’s a video.

25. Trump said he opposed the war in Iraq. He didn’t.

26. Trump said Clinton will raise your taxes. Only if you’re really rich.

27. Trump said Clinton’s tax plan will double your taxes. Nope.

28. Trump said Chicago proves that gun laws don’t work. That’s not how this works.

29. Trump claimed illegal immigrants are treated better than veterans. They’re not.

30. Trump claimed Obamacare is raising premiums. He’s half right.

31. Trump said Clinton failed to keep U.S. troops in Iraq. That’s mostly false.

32. Trump alleged voter fraud citing a Pew report. That report found no evidence of voter fraud.

33. Trump said the Clinton Foundation took millions from the Middle East. It did.

34. Trump said Clinton "gave us ISIS." She didn’t.

35. Trump said Clinton’s State Department lost $6 billion. It didn’t.

36. Clinton said Trump wanted to punish women for abortions. He did, but he walked it back immediately.