President Biden recently received the dubious distinction of a “Four Pinocchios” rating from the Washington Post, notably over his claims that he was arrested while participating in a civil rights protest in Delaware, the president’s home state.
The “Pinocchio” system is the liberal outlet’s primary means of evaluating the falsehood of a statement, and the highest number of “Pinocchios” that someone might receive is four.
The outlet published an article titled “Biden claims yet another arrest for which there’s little evidence,” wherein Glenn Kessler, the fact-checker at the Washington Post, remarked that Biden is not exactly “a reliable source” in terms of fairly “exaggerated” anecdotes. Kessler also observed that many elements of Biden’s claim do not add up accordingly.
“I did not walk in the shoes of generations of students who walked these grounds, but I walked other grounds” Biden warbled during his appearance at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
“Because I’m so damn old,” the president continued, “I was there as well … It seems like yesterday [was] the first time I got arrested.”
Per Kessler’s commentary, Biden appears to be referencing an anecdote that he has told repeatedly regarding a 2008 conversation that he had with his mother regarding whether or not he should agree to serve as former President Barack Obama’s running mate.
In that particular story, Biden’s mother allegedly informed him that he went and provided support to a Black family when he was a teenager. The black family had been residing in a town not far from where the Biden family lived, and they endured significant protests upon moving into the area.
The story regarding Biden’s mother has emerged in various forms over time, and some versions include an alleged “arrest” of the ostensibly activist Biden. However, other versions suggest that Biden was returned home by the police in order to prevent him from getting in trouble.
Other inconsistencies include the exact age that Biden was at the time, as well as where exactly the protest took place.
Moreover, Biden has never made any reference whatsoever to being arrested in any of his memoirs, even though he still referenced the aforementioned conversation with his mother.
After detailing various media reports regarding protests in the area regarding the purchase of a home by a Black family, Kessler concluded that a number of elements in Biden’s story simply made no sense.
Since “the primary source for this story is Biden,” Kessler remarked, “he appears to be citing his mother to enhance his civil rights credentials, which … he has exaggerated before.”
“Too many elements do not add up to give this ‘arrest’ more credibility than his previous claims of getting in trouble with the law,” Kessler added.
“We’ve learned over the years that [Biden] is not always a reliable source,” Kessler remarked wryly, adding that the president has now “earned” his “Four Pinocchios” rating.
In 2020, Biden also had to admit that he invented a story regarding his alleged arrest in South Africa when he apparently attempted to visit Nelson Mandela.
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