AP FACT CHECK: Trump and the virus-era China ban that isn't

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's “ban” on travel from China is his go-to point when defending his response to the coronavirus pandemic. The problem with his core argument starts with the fact that he did not ban travel from China. He imposed porous restrictions.

Over the past week, Trump cited his China action repeatedly and as part of a scattered indictment of Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden.

Trump thoroughly misrepresented Biden's position on immigration and more, while an economic adviser with no public health credentials tried to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, with a scientific argument.

It was a difficult week for discerning the reality of things.

In review:

THE ‘BAN’

TRUMP: “We would’ve had thousands of people additionally die if we let people come in from heavily infected China. But we stopped it. We did a travel ban in January. ... By closing up, we saved millions, potentially millions of lives." — Rose Garden remarks Tuesday.

TRUMP: He didn't ban travel from China. He restricted it. Dozens of countries took similar steps to control travel from hot spots before or around the same time the U.S. did.

The U.S. restrictions that took effect Feb. 2 continued to allow travel to the U.S. from China's Hong Kong and Macao territories over the past five months. The Associated Press reported that more than 8,000 Chinese and foreign nationals based in those territories entered the U.S. in the first three months after the travel restrictions were imposed.

Additionally, more than 27,000 Americans returned from mainland China in the first month after the restrictions took effect. U.S. officials lost track of more than 1,600 of them who were supposed to be monitored for virus exposure.

Few doubt...