On Wednesday, during a speech in Sunrise, Fla., Donald Trump said President Obama “founded ISIS. I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.”
Our ruling
Trump said Obama “founded ISIS. I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.”
There’s a credible critique that Obama’s and Clinton’s foreign-policy and military decisions helped create a space in which ISIS could operate and expand. But Trump explicitly rejected this formulation, saying he literally means Obama is “the founder of ISIS” and Clinton is the “co-founder.”
In reality, the founder of ISIS was a terrorist. It is run by terrorists. Obama has said destroying ISIS is his “top priority.”
All this makes Trump’s statement a ridiculous characterization. He’s doubled, tripled and quadrupled down on it in various venues and has reinforced that he meant his words to be taken literally.
We rate it Pants on Fire.
To read the full fact check, go to politifact.com.