The Star fact-checks Trump’s remarks at Wichita rally

President Donald Trump speaks in Park City, Kansas, on Monday in support of Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, who faces a tough re-election campaign against Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton.

The Star fact-checks some of Trump’s claims during the rally.

Live Updates:

Follow updates from Kansas City Star reporters and verify President Trump’s claims during a visit to Wichita.

No illegal immigrants enter the country

Trump told the crowd that no undocumented immigrants had been “admitted” to the United States during his second term.

“We inherited the worst border in American history and we made it the strongest, most secure border in the history of our country. And over the last 17 months, zero, that’s not even credible,” Trump said. “No illegal immigrants have been admitted to the United States. »

Verdict: requires context

During Trump’s two terms, his administration ended a practice known as “catch and release,” in which Border Patrol agents apprehended people crossing the border and released them into the country.

The number of people attempting to enter the United States illegally declined sharply during Trump’s second term. The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended about 86,000 migrants trying to cross the border in Trump’s first year, compared to 956,000 in Biden’s final year in office.

22,000 billion dollars of investment?

Trump has repeatedly said he helped attract more than $22 trillion in foreign investment.

“Sleepy Joe Biden invested $500 billion in four years. We made $22 trillion in 16 months,” Trump said.

Verdict: false.

The White House’s official tracker lists about $11.3 trillion in investments. This figure includes broad investment announcements, non-binding trade targets and commitments secured under the Biden administration.

Bloomberg Economics estimates that credible investment commitments are closer to $7 trillion.

Is there a boom in car factories?

Trump said the auto industry was booming under his leadership.

Verdict: false.

“We currently have more auto plants built in the United States than at any other time in history,” Trump said. “We went through a period of 48 years, where not a single car plant, they all closed, not a single car plant was built. We’re building more.”

Auto manufacturing in the United States has not reached record levels. The country has built two dozen major new vehicle assembly plants over the past four decades.

Was Roger Marshall forced to sue for unpaid medical debt?

Marshall came under scrutiny after a New York Times investigation found he sued hundreds of former patients over unpaid medical bills.

The investigation found that Marshall pursued more than 700 patients, leading to at least 81 arrests after missing court dates. Marshall charged an 18 percent annual interest rate on unpaid bills and, in some cases, garnished patients’ wages and bank accounts, the Times reported.

Trump said at the rally that Marshall “came under fire” because he was required by law to sue former patients for unpaid medical debt.

“He was mandated by law to forcefully demand money owed to patients,” Trump said at the rally. “You’re not allowed not to. You have to, by law, prosecute these people.”

Verdict: false.

No federal or state law requires doctors to sue patients for unpaid medical debt. The Hill also reports that no law requires debt collectors to ask judges for arrest warrants for defendants who fail to appear in court.

Did Hamilton “protect a child sexual predator?” »

Trump claimed Hamilton personally protected a sexual predator who abused children at a summer camp.

“Adam Hamilton protected a child sexual predator at his church. You’ve read about it. And what’s almost as bad is that he just admitted last night that he never contacted law enforcement when this was discovered. Instead, he let him come back as a camp counselor and let him stay as a camp counselor, knowing he was a child predator.”

Verdict: Requires context.

In November 2005, church volunteer Scott Preston Moore entered a bedroom at night and inappropriately touched two teenage boys. The boys reported their experience to camp counselors, who dismissed their complaints, according to court records reviewed by The Star.

Court documents do not name Hamilton as being directly involved in the report. The Church conducted an internal investigation into the abuse in 2005, but was unable to conclusively identify the perpetrator, according to a court filing.

The church did not report the incident to law enforcement or social services in 2005. Moore returned as a camp counselor the following year and was accused of entering campers’ rooms at night, although court documents do not indicate he engaged in sexual abuse in 2006.

After these allegations, Church officials alerted the Linn County Sheriff’s Office about the 2006 incident and allegations from the previous year. Linn County prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, but the Church barred Moore from working with children, youth and vulnerable adults.

Moore was convicted in 2013 of inappropriately touching a 16-year-old boy. In an interview with CNN, Hamilton said the church should have called the police immediately.

Hamilton calls for repentance for eating beef

Trump told the crowd that Hamilton believed Kansans should “repent for eating beef because you’re causing global warming.”

Verdict: Requires context.

Hamilton noted that “cattle end up producing more carbon dioxide” in a 2020 sermon focused largely on climate change. Hamilton urged his parishioners to find ways to minimize their carbon footprint.

“You need to do everything you can to reduce your own consumption of fossil fuels, and maybe change your diet so that the things you eat require less production that creates methane and carbon dioxide and everything else,” Hamilton said during the sermon.

Opponents have seized on the issue to portray Hamilton as anti-beef. In a campaign video, Hamilton grilled and ate steak while criticizing Marshall’s record.

Hamilton supports state ‘flooded’ with refugees

Trump said Hamilton supported flooding the state with dangerous refugees.

“He supports flooding Kansas with unchecked refugees who are killing people, literally for no reason,” Trump said.

Verdict: false.

Adam Hamilton said he did not support open borders and that “dangerous criminals have no place here”.

Hamilton, he supports border security, immigration and customs enforcement targeting serious criminals, year-round agricultural visas and a pathway to citizenship for agricultural workers.

2020 election results

Trump said the 2020 election and the local Los Angeles mayoral race were rigged.

“We did a great job, and it was historic, and then we did it a second time and we won by an even bigger margin. We won. We had a great second run,” Trump said. “We won by millions of votes. They rigged the election.”

Verdict: false.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud or election tampering in the 2020 elections or the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election.

riots in France

Trump presented the riots in France as being led by “migrants, jihadists and communists”.

“Just look at what is happening in France, a once great nation being conquered, pillaged and burned by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity and who hate, frankly, Western civilization itself,” Trump said.

“And as we see in Europe, left-wing globalist protesters have treacherously imported millions and millions of third world migrants who are totally incompatible with the West and with Western values. They despise everything about France and are destroying their country.”

Verdict: false.

Protests in France began a few weeks ago against the shortage of teachers and the poor state of French classes. They have since degenerated into growing unrest over the cost of living, and French unions have supported the movement.

Fishermen, police officers, farmers, construction workers, medical workers and university staff took part in the protest.

This story was originally published October 19, 2026 at 7:27 p.m..