Fact checking the second round of GOP debates

The second debate for top Republican presidential candidates included bashing Donald Trump, a fiery Carly Fiorina and an admission from Jeb Bush that he says his mom won't like.

By Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee
September 17, WashPost

CNN aired two GOP presidential debates Wednesday: a prime-time event starring 11 candidates and an earlier debate featuring four second-tier contenders, based on an average of recent polls.

Not every candidate uttered facts that are easily fact checked, but following is a list of 18 suspicious claims. As is our practice, we do not award Pinocchios when we do a roundup of facts in debates.

The Main Event

“I never went bankrupt, by the way.” — businessman Donald Trump

What’s Trump talking about? He’s making a distinction about the fact that his companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which means a company can remain in business while wiping away many of its debts. The bankruptcy court ultimately approves a corporate budget and a plan to repay remaining debts; often shareholders lose much of their equity.

Trump personally has not gone “bankrupt,” but as a result of his corporate bankruptcy restructurings, he did have to give up personal assets, such as a yacht, to help make loan payments, and his equity stake in various casinos was greatly reduced.

Trump claims he is worth $10 billion but other estimates put it much lower — around $3 billion.

(More here.)