WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Iowa on Wednesday. It was just like old times.He insulted Hillary Clinton. He insulted Chicago. He attributed a sensational claim to an unnamed buddy of his.He floated a confusing proposal, promising to change welfare law to something that sounds identical to current welfare law. He executed a dizzying shift in rhetoric, applauding himself for appointing a former Goldman Sachs executive after railing against Goldman Sachs. And he revealed an unbaked plan — to turn his hypothetical giant wall on the Mexican border into a power-generating “solar wall” that would reduce the hypothetical reimbursement bill he still insists he will be sending to Mexico.More than anything, though, he made things up. Trump averages two false claims a day as president. When he was on the campaign trail, giving longer and less scripted speeches, he averaged more than 15 per day. Returning to his roots, he offered up 18 in his 70-minute speech in Cedar Rapids. Many of them were whoppers. Behold:1. “CNN (crowd boos) — whoop, hey, their camera just went off … It was covered live, their camera just went off. I can’t imagine why.”This simply did not happen: CNN did not turn off a camera or end its live coverage of the rally upon hearing the boos. In fact, it stopped airing rally footage 15 minutes prior; at the time of the booing, it was airing a segment about Trump’s Russia controversy. Trump told precisely the same lie about a CNN camera at a rally in July 2016.2. “This happened in Montana, right. In Kansas. Last night, South Carolina with Ralph … California, so. But it’s been incredible. So we’re 5 and 0. We’re 5 and 0.”Republicans are not 5 and 0 in congressional special elections under Trump: a Democrat won the little-noticed California race he mentioned in this very paragraph. Republicans’ actual record is ...
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