Last night, the Republicans were jumping up and down and clapping to Trump's lies and exaggerations.
Just one example, Trump said that America built the Panama Canal and 38,000 people died during the construction.
All wrong. Lies. Lies. Lies.
The French tried to build a canal in the last part of the 19th century, before there were treatments for yellow fever and malaria. 20,000 workers died during the French effort to build the canal. They spent about 9 years (1881-1889) trying to build a canal but the canal authority went bankrupt, so the canal was never finished.
The Americans completed the canal, taking over construction in 1904 using workers from the Caribbean, many from Barbados. The canal finally opened in 1914.
5,609 people (mostly Caribbean Black workers) died during that effort. Compare that to the building of the Suez Canal that resulted in the death of at least 120,000 workers.
Before the American effort could begin, the US had to "arrange" for Panama to become a separate country. At the time, Panama was part of Colombia. The US backed Panama's independence and blockaded the territory to prevent Colombian troops from keeping control of the country.
Trump blamed Jimmy Carter for "giving away the Panama Canal". That's not the whole story. Panama had political unrest after WWII. There was fear that Panama would eventually seize the canal. The efforts to create an international canal zone managed by Panama started in the Kennedy Administration and was finalized by Henry Kissinger during the second Nixon Administration. Carter signed the final treaty, with Congress' agreement, in 1977.
Fun fact: John McCain was born in the Canal Zone. Congress had to pass special legislation to confirm that he was an American citizen so that he could run for President.
Autocrats have to change the truth into fiction in order to justify what they do. The whole Panama Canal business is just another example of Trump lying, creating a false narrative to soften the ground to justify what he wants to do- break another treaty and take something that America doesn't have rights to.