Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

A child dives into balloons on the floor after the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 29, 2016. (AP) A child dives into balloons on the floor after the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 29, 2016. (AP)

A child dives into balloons on the floor after the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 29, 2016. (AP)

By PolitiFact Staff March 1, 2023

Former President Donald Trump got a three-month head start on fellow Republicans when he announced in November 2022 that he would run for president for the third time. But with Trump mired in several investigations, including the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, he will face plenty of challengers, including some who served in his past administration, such as former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and possibly former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Several current or former governors are also weighing bids, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with whom Trump has been publicly feuding in recent weeks.

On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden hasn’t announced whether he’ll seek a second term yet, keeping potential candidates sidelined for now. Some news reports predict that Biden could announce his decision in April.

Here are the people who have officially declared themselves to be candidates, and a look at how some of their claims have fared on our Truth-O-Meter.

If you hear a statement by a presidential candidate or potential contender we should fact-check, email us at [email protected]

Republicans

Former President Donald Trump stands with former first lady Melania Trump after  announcing his third run for president during an event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022. (AP)

Donald Trump

The former president, defeated by Biden in 2020, became the first candidate to publicly join the 2024 fray, announcing on Nov. 15, 2022 his third run for the White House.

Since leaving office, Trump has been a subject of two special counsel investigations, one involving the events on Jan. 6, 2021, and another about classified documents found at his home in Mar-A-Lago in Florida. In addition, prosecutors are investigating Trump’s role in possible election interference in Georgia and alleged hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels in New York. If Trump is indicted in any of the inquiries, it won’t prevent him from running for president. Likewise, running for president won’t shield him from legal troubles.

Our recent fact-checks of Trump:

Fact-checking Trump’s false and misleading claims in Waco, Texas, rally

Donald Trump exaggerates Manhattan crime levels in attacks on DA in Stormy Daniels case

Donald Trump issued trans military ban, but his administration rejected calling it that

Read all of our fact-checks about Trump

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley greets supporters after her speech  Feb. 15, 2023, in Charleston, S.C. (AP)

Nikki Haley

The former South Carolina governor, who served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, announced her candidacy in a video posted to Twitter on Feb. 14, 2023. She called for a "new generation" of leadership in the video, flip-flopping on her pledge not to run against her former boss.

Our recent fact-checks of Haley:

Nikki Haley flip-flops on presidential plans and will challenge Donald Trump after all

Fact-checking Nikki Haley’s inflation math on July 4 cookout costs

Read all of our fact-checks about Haley

Vivek Ramaswamy is a businessman who has written two books criticizing liberal positions on diversity and inclusion and climate change. (Vivek 2024)

Vivek Ramaswamy

The businessman and author of the books "Woke, Inc." and "Nation of Victims" announced his candidacy in a video on Feb. 21, 2023. Ramaswamy said in his video that the U.S. is in the midst of an identity crisis with "new secular religions like COVID-ism, climate-ism and gender ideology."

We have not published any fact checks of Ramaswamy, but will list them here if we do.

Steve Laffey

The former mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island announced in a video on Feb. 1 that he is running for president. Laffey lost a U.S. Senate primary bid in that state in 2006. 

We have not published any fact checks of Laffey, but will list them here if we do.

Democrats

President Joe Biden delivered the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 7, 2023. (AP)

President Joe Biden

Biden has not officially announced that he will seek a second term, but he hinted in early February that he will. 

Biden delivered his second State of the Union speech on Feb. 7, his first to a divided Congress, with Republicans now in control of the House. He called for bipartisan cooperation on key issues but at times was met with jeers from some GOP lawmakers. Read our fact-check of Biden’s address here.

Our recent fact-checks of Biden:

Biden says expanded child tax credit sharply cut poverty for Black children; data shows he’s right

President Joe Biden flip-flopped on allowing new oil and gas drilling on federal lands

Joe Biden miscalculates how much billionaires pay in taxes

Read all of our fact checks about Biden

Check out our Biden Promise Tracker scorecard

Marianne Williamson

The author and self-help guru who ran for president in 2020 announced her candidacy in an interview with Medill News Service on Feb. 23, 2023. Among her 2020 proposals was creating a Department of Peace.

Our previous fact-checks of Williamson:

Fact-checking Marianne Williamson on school funding in the United States

Was Jimmy Carter the last president to call Israeli settlements illegal?

Read all of our fact checks about Williamson

Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter

Our Sources

See links in story above

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by PolitiFact Staff

Fact-checking 2024 presidential candidates, who’s running