AP FACT CHECK: Trump's fiction in his goodbye to Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — In his final remarks as president, Donald Trump tried to take credit for accomplishments of his predecessor and even those to come under President Joe Biden.

Falsehoods suffused his farewell remarks Wednesday morning and the night before, though he was spot on with this: “We were not a regular administration.”

As well, in noting Americans were “horrified” by the storming of the Capitol this month, he brushed past the encouragement he had given to the mob in advance — by falsely claiming widespread voting fraud — and his praise of the attackers as “very special” people while they were still ransacking the seat of power.

“There is truth and there are lies — lies told for power and for profit,” Biden said after he took the helm as president. “Each of us has a duty and a responsibility as citizens, as Americans and especially as leaders ... to defend the truth and defeat the lies.”

A look at some of Trump's statements to well-wishers at Joint Base Andrews en route to Florida on Wednesday and in his videotaped address Tuesday:

COVID-19

TRUMP, boasting of his accomplishments for the U.S.: “Again, we put it in a position like it’s never been before, despite the worst plague to hit since I'd guess you say 1917, over a 100 years ago.” — remarks Wednesday before leaving Washington.

THE FACTS: He got the year wrong for the Spanish flu that hit in 1918 and completely ignored the role his handling of the coronavirus pandemic played in the surging infections and deaths that beset the nation.

The U.S. in fact remains in a perilous position when it comes to COVID-19, surpassing 400,000 deaths this week.

The Spanish flu pandemic Trump referred to spread from early 1918 to late 1920.

After COVID-19 first appeared in the U.S., Trump...