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CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale's skills were put to the test on Wednesday night as President Trump held a campaign rally in Louisiana.
Dale went viral earlier this year for pinpointing that a telltale sign that Trump was about to lie was "if he tells a story in which someone calls him 'sir.'"
Giving a play-by-play on Twitter, Dale started out optimistic that he would be up to the task of fact-checking Trump's claims in real time.
Trump is holding a rally in Louisiana. Quotes and fact checks in this thread.— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573088488.0
Soon Trump launched into his now-familiar talking points:
"evil" Democrats and "crooked" Hillary Clinton, the impeachment probe, the Ukraine scandal, and, of course, the "fake news media."
Trump: "Democrats are becomingly (sic) increasingly totalitarian. Suppressing dissent, defaming the innocent, elimi… https://t.co/shTb5tbVyj— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573091762.0
"Crooked Hillary." A Lock Her Up chant. Trump: "So is there any place that you would rather be than at a Trump rall… https://t.co/UGzESciyuE— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573091875.0
Trump bashes the media. "The CNN light is gonna go off," he says. CNN's cameras at these rallies do not have any vi… https://t.co/JuN5gTIBHB— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573091977.0
Not long into the speech, Dale was struggling to keep up, admitting:
"He is saying false/misleading/bizarre things in rapid succession, faster than I can type."
Trump says the whistleblower's source probably does not exist, which makes no sense. He is saying false/misleading/… https://t.co/xLQGbPo4ZJ— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573092092.0
Dale came up with some other notable fact-checks about auto insurance, the economy and healthcare during the remainder of Trump's speech.
Trump says Louisiana, under a Democratic governor, has the highest auto insurance rates "in the entire nation, by f… https://t.co/DAizJ5fHpo— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573092943.0
Trump takes credit for the big Cameron LNG facility approved during the Obama administration: "They couldn't get th… https://t.co/NU0CDfIpnA— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573094527.0
Trump says tariffs are producing "billions and billions of dollars from a country that never gave us 10 cents, Chin… https://t.co/XOWAImtKcP— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573094620.0
Trump repeats his usual line, which has already been proven false, about how he'll always protect patients with pre… https://t.co/7uG3czTXZ1— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573094938.0
Trump even told one of his signature "sir" stories.
Trump just told a brief Sir story about Rep. Ralph Abraham. It is very rare for the Sir-er to be named.— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1573094174.0
By the time the speech ended a little over an hour later, Dale had racked up a thread of 37 tweets.
No small feat.
Twitter was certainly impressed and, frankly, appalled at the same time.
@ddale8 May your adult beverages this evening be strong.— SpaceLaserCOODon (@SpaceLaserCOODon) 1573088512.0
@TheCochese @ddale8 First, a shower.— Sue Barker (@Sue Barker) 1573095708.0
@ddale8 I'm sorry. You're going to need therapy after this administration.— ole granny (@ole granny) 1573088541.0
@ddale8 Sir alerts incoming— Edward Kim (@Edward Kim) 1573088510.0
@ddale8 Bringing out the hits... Crooked Hillary Do Nothing Democrats Socialism Sir alert Lies Airing of grieva… https://t.co/W6kwLMXYfx— Helis Bor (@Helis Bor) 1573089199.0
@ddale8 omg. that you keep doing these is simultaneously one of the most impressively hopeful and crushingly sad th… https://t.co/gGhu5Wa1Qs— John Callender (@John Callender) 1573093279.0
Dale took one for the team.
And it was much appreciated.
@ddale8 Thank you for doing this - so we don't have to listen to him.— DB (@DB) 1573088823.0
@ddale8 Thank you for your hard work and dedication. God knows it can't be easy listening to him day after day.— Barbed Wires 🇺🇲 (@Barbed Wires 🇺🇲) 1573133598.0
@ddale8 God bless you, Daniel.— Jo (@Jo) 1573088942.0
Time to mentally prepare for the next one.
@ddale8 Hydrate and get some rest.— Kevin (@Kevin) 1573097640.0
If you really want to watch Trump's full speech, you can watch it below.
Godspeed.
The book Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies To Us is available here.