Fact check: Trump takes credit for commemorative coin
President Donald Trump signed the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act on Monday. The bill, which has the bipartisan support of all 25 female senators, directs the Treasury Department to issue $1 coins honoring the history of the women’s suffrage movement. This is in preparation for next year, which will mark 100 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote.
During the signing ceremony for the bill, Trump claimed credit for the bill’s passage, saying “they’ve been working on this for years and years. And I’m curious, why wasn’t it done a long time ago, and also — well, I guess the answer to that is because now I’m President, and we get things done.”
Facts First: Trump is taking credit for something timed to a specific date — the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. There were no failed efforts to pass similar legislation under previous presidents because the anniversary isn’t until next year.
The bill that led to this coin was introduced in April 2019. So while a woman’s right to vote was an achievement years in the making — this commemorative coin was not.
Trump frequently boasts of his administration getting things done in contrast to what he calls the “do-nothing Democrats” and this isn’t the first time he has falsely claimed credit for passing legislation that previous administrations couldn’t.
Time and time again, Trump — undeterred by reality — has tried to take credit for signing into law the Veterans Choice Program, even arguing that Sen. John McCain couldn’t previously get it passed. This ignores the reality that VA Choice was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, and was co-sponsored by Sen. McCain. Trump signed a bill to continue the program and consolidate other programs under the new Veterans Community Care Program.
Trump has also taken credit for accomplishments that happened under previous administrations, including new plants and factories, US energy production, and US-Mexico cooperation on migration.
