AP FACT CHECK: What the Dems didn't say, and what Trump did

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden and fellow Democrats spun an assortment of facts to their benefit in their national convention, omitting inconvenient truths such as Barack Obama's record of aggressive deportations and swift action by a Republican president to save the auto industry more than a decade ago.

Meantime President Donald Trump flooded the zone with falsehoods, some so apparent that anyone with access to the internet could see the folly of them at a glance. Witness his reference to New Zealand's “massive breakout” of COVID-19, which does not exist.

The virtual, socially distanced Democratic National Convention was unique in history but conventional in this sense: The nominee and his supporters at times exaggerated the good, played down the bad and glossed over important context.

But overall the discipline was discernible, as it usually was for the biggest speeches of Republican and Democratic leaders alike before the rise of Trump. Even Biden, a gaffe machine in the old days, displayed that control. The off notes came largely from what Democrats didn't say.

A sampling from the past week's rhetoric as the Republican National Convention prepares to affirm Trump as the 2020 nominee in coming days:

IMMIGRATION

BARACK OBAMA: “We are born of immigrants. That is who we are. Immigration is our origin story.” — convention video Wednesday celebrating immigration, showing historical scenes and one that appeared to be of Trump's border wall.

BARACK OBAMA: “I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there’s still a place for him here.” — convention speech Wednesday.

THE FACTS: The facts here are not in dispute. But an omission stands out: Obama aggressively enforced border controls and deported nearly 3 million...