© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Obama Gets Fact-Checked on Major Iran Deal Claim — and Gets Three Pinocchios After 'Winning Ugly\
President Barack Obama speaks about the economy, Friday, Oct. 31, 2014, at Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I. Obama wants women to know what his administration is doing to help them succeed. Four days before midterm elections in which Obama's fellow Democrats need a big turnout from female voters, Obama spoke in Rhode Island on growth in the U.S. economy and administration policies directed at women. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Obama Gets Fact-Checked on Major Iran Deal Claim — and Gets Three Pinocchios After 'Winning Ugly\

"Strong support"?

A key claim President Barack Obama made last week after U.S. Senate Democrats successfully blocked a vote to reject the Iran nuclear agreement has been given three Pinocchios by the Washington Post.

Forty-two Senate Democrats voted against cloture to end their party's filibuster of the disapproval resolution, while 58 senators voted to end debate (two votes short of the 60 votes required). Without an actual vote on the resolution to reject the Iran deal, the administration is now free to begin rolling back sanctions and implementing other parts of the historical international agreement.

“Over the last several weeks, the more members studied the details of this deal, the more they came out in support," Obama announced. "Today, I am heartened that so many senators judged this deal on the merits, and am gratified by the strong support of lawmakers and citizens alike."

President Barack Obama speaks about the economy, Friday, Oct. 31, 2014, at Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I. Obama wants women to know what his administration is doing to help them succeed. Four days before midterm elections in which Obama's fellow Democrats need a big turnout from female voters, Obama spoke in Rhode Island on growth in the U.S. economy and administration policies directed at women. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP Photo/Evan Vucci

But is there really "strong support" for the deal, as the president argued. According to the Post, the answer is no.

The newspaper awarded the president "three Pinocchios" for his claim, citing the small — and shrinking — share of Americans who actually support the deal, growing public opposition and the 58  senators, some of them Democrats, who voted in favor of getting to a vote to reject the bill.

"Any way you slice it, it is difficult to support the claim that there is 'strong support' for the Iran deal among lawmakers and citizens," the Post's Glenn Kessler wrote. "This is clearly a case of winning ugly, in the face of minority support among lawmakers and increasing opposition among American citizens."

Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Bob Menendez (N.J.), Ben Cardin (Md.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) each came out in opposition to the deal, siding with Republican rivals who have vowed to kill the deal. "No amount of saying this issue is over makes it over," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the Associated Press. The Kentucky lawmaker added that if a Republican is elected to the White House in 2016, that the deal would be "looked on anew."

According to the most recent poll cited by the Post, 49 percent of those surveyed in September said they disapprove of the deal while just  21 percent approve of it.

Follow Jon Street (@JonStreet) on Twitter

Want to leave a tip?

We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?