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Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
67 claims · Clear filters
True70% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026Donald Trump told reporters in Ireland that he won three times.Said by AMultiple sources report Trump saying in Ireland that he 'won three times' and 'didn't win twice,' so the act of saying it is documented. The claim is about what he said, not whether it is true; FactCheck.org separately rates his 2020 'won three times' assertion as baseless, and sources differ slightly on whether the remark was made to reporters on September 12 or 13.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True93% confidence6 sourcesSep 13, 2026Donald Trump traveled to Ireland for the Irish Open at his golf club in Dunbeg.Said by AMultiple independent sources confirm that Trump traveled to Ireland on September 12-13, 2026, to attend the Irish Open at his Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, Co. Clare. The claim spells the town "Dunbeg" rather than "Doonbeg," a spelling variant for the same course, and the claim's wording matches the passage.True85% confidence6 sourcesSep 13, 2026Judge J. Michael Luttig published a warning that Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats after the midterm elections.Multiple sources confirm that Judge J. Michael Luttig published a New Republic op-ed warning that House Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats in the January 2027 session after the midterms. The claim's wording matches the passage, and no source contradicts it.True60% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026Speaker Mike Johnson has the power to replace the current House clerk with a loyalist who could refuse to list Democrats on the roll of those elected to the 120th Congress.The sources support that the Speaker has the power to remove the House clerk: the CRS footnote says the Clerk may be removed by the House or the Speaker, and Luttig's account, repeated by Truthdig and Alternet, cites Rule II, Clause 1 for unilateral removal. The 'could refuse to list Democrats' element describes a hypothetical scenario that no source reports as having happened, and the 2026 coverage frames it as a warning, not an event. The claim is judged on the power, which is supported, and the refusal is treated as a capacity, not a checkable act; as of 2026-09-13 no replacement had occurred.True55% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026Donald Trump's plan to use the US Postal Service to screen mailed-in votes is being tested in Florida.Sources show USPS screening of Florida mail-ballot materials under Trump's mail-voting plan: Leon County's envelope was rejected for spacing, and USPS backed down. The Portside post also reports a Florida test run, and the plan was blocked by courts, so the 'being tested' framing rests on thin, mostly unrated coverage.True65% confidence9 sourcesSep 13, 2026The Department of Justice under Donald Trump is threatening election workers to force them to put Trump's election changes into effect.Multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources report that a federal judge found the DOJ and DHS were threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution to force them to set aside or stop processing ballots tied to the administration's noncitizen-voting demands, and ordered the threats stopped. The sources describe October 2026 conduct, not September, so the September 13 posting date is inferred rather than directly documented; the 'election changes' wording is a loose paraphrase of those ballot and roll demands.True90% confidence7 sourcesAug 2, 2026Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded a no-bid contract to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.Said by AMultiple independent sources, including a FactCheck.org tier1 report, AP, the BBC, and a primary Senate press release, confirm that Atlantic Industrial Coatings received a no-bid Interior Department contract for work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The sources describe the original contract as painting and waterproofing rather than repair, though the company later performed warranty repairs, so 'repair' is a loose but acceptable characterization. The claim departs from the passage only in wording, not in substance.True95% confidence8 sourcesAug 2, 2026The Department of Justice moved to dismiss criminal charges against David Hearn on July 31, 2026.Said by AMultiple tier1 sources (AP, Reuters, and others) report that the Justice Department moved on Friday, July 31, 2026 to dismiss the criminal case against former Olympian David Hearn over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The claim's date matches the post's 'last night' framing, and a later October 2026 report that a judge permanently dismissed the case does not contradict the July 31 motion.True90% confidence5 sourcesAug 2, 2026The cost of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation project increased from 1.8 million dollars on May 7, 2026, to 13.1 million dollars by May 8, 2026.Said by AThe claim matches the reporting: Trump said on May 7 the fix would take a week and cost about $1.8 million, and by May 8 the cost had risen to $13.1 million, per Senator Blumenthal's letter and the NYT reporting relayed by The Hill and PolitiFact. The extraction is faithful to the passage, and the later increases to $14.7M and $16.4M in other sources do not contradict the May 8 figure.True90% confidence4 sourcesAug 2, 2026The National Park Service contracted Greenwater Services for a water purification system for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool for 1.7 million dollars.Said by AMultiple tier1 sources confirm that Greenwater Services (also called Green Water Solutions) received a $1.7 million no-bid contract to install a water-purification system for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Some sources attribute the award to the Interior Department rather than the National Park Service specifically, but the NPS-administered work is consistent with that, and the extraction matches the passage's wording.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True93% confidence5 sourcesAug 2, 2026President Donald J. Trump announced plans to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in April 2026.Said by AMultiple independent outlets confirm that Trump announced the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation in April 2026, with AP reporting the announcement at an Oval Office event on April 23, 2026. The claim matches the passage's wording and the sources contain no contradiction.True90% confidence11 sourcesAug 2, 2026David Hearn was arrested by U.S. Park Police on June 19, 2026, for destruction of public property.Said by AMultiple tier1 and tier2 sources (Reuters, DOJ press release, NYT, People, USA Today, KSHB) confirm U.S. Park Police arrested David Hearn, 67, on June 19, 2026, and that he was charged with destruction of property. The claim's wording 'for destruction of public property' is a near-paraphrase of 'destruction of government property' reported by People and USA Today, and the arrest date and actor are consistently confirmed; the later dismissal does not make the arrest claim false as of its date.