CNN Fact Checks Joe Biden on Several False, Misleading Claims He’s Made While Campaigning
President Joe Biden has made several false or misleading claims while campaigning for congressional Democrats before the Midterm Elections, according to CNN.
Since October, Biden has been out on the campaign trail trying to boost at-risk congressional Democrats as the party loses momentum in the home stretch of the midterm cycle.
However, left-wing CNN highlighted several instances on Saturday where the president made false or misleading statements in October and November.
Trump Tax Cuts
CLAIM: On Thursday in New Mexico, Biden stated former President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts only benefited the top one percent, a claim he also made at this year’s State of the Union address.
VERDICT: While the tax cuts benefited top earners, middle-class Americans also received significant tax cuts in the following years after the legislation was signed. As Breitbart News’s John Carney writes:
Eighty-two percent of American middle-class households received a tax cut and Americans altogether received an average tax cut of $1,260. Ninety percent of Americans saw an increase in take-home pay. The tax cuts raised wage growth by 3.3 percent and helped foster historic lows in unemployment.
Furthermore, CNN, via the Tax Policy Center think tank, noted all income earners in each state received a tax cut.
On the campaign trail: Former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden held a campaign rally for Pennsylvania’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro and Democratic Senate candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Philadelphia. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty)
Lowering National Debt
CLAIM: At a Florida campaign rally on Tuesday and at the same New Mexico rally, Biden claimed that his government had reduced the national debt in half.
“We cut the federal debt in half. A fact,” Biden stated.
VERDICT: That claim is false as the U.S. national debt soared passed $31 trillion for the first time in October, Breitbart News reported.
CNN pointed out Biden was most likely conflating the national debt and federal deficit, which was reduced in half between 2021 and 2022. However, even that is also misleading, as the federal deficit was expected to fall in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 after record-high pandemic relief spending in 2020
Social Security
CLAIM(S): Biden made two misleading claims regarding social security checks increasing for senior citizens, according to the left-wing network.
His first statement came in Pennsylvania last week when he said, “On our watch, for the first time in 10 years, seniors are going to get the biggest increase in their Social Security checks they’ve gotten.”
VERDICT(S): The remarks are misleading because it misses important context. Social security checks are rising 8.7 percent in 2023 because they were adjusted to the skyrocketing inflation that has occurred under Biden’s presidency. In fact, the cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment — which is what social security rates are tied to — was the highest it had increased in 40 years, Breitbart News noted.
The Biden White House Twitter account tweeted the same claim but was hit with a “Fact Check” by Twitter, and the post was deleted shortly after.
Moreover, CNN noted the comments were false because the COLA adjustment has increased almost every year for the past ten years.
U.S. President Joe Biden looks at his watch as he speaks about lowering prescription drug costs and protecting Social Security and Medicare at Jones Elementary School in Joliet, Illinois, November 5, 2022. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Gas Prices
CLAIM: At an economic speech last week in New York, the president said, “Today, the most common price of gas in America is $3.39 – down from over $5 when I took office.”
VERDICT: When Biden took office, gas prices were nowhere near averaging $5 per gallon nationwide. In January 2021, when he was inaugurated, gas prices averaged $2.38 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
While the president correctly says that gas prices have come down to a current average of $3.79 per gallon, that was after they reached a record high of a national average of $5 per gallon in June under his administration, according to AAA.
Xi Jinping and China
CLAIM: Biden stated in October that he traveled over 17,000 miles with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he was vice president. He made a similar claim Thursday, saying he had traveled 17,000 to 18,000 miles with the Chinese Communist Party leader.
VERDICT: Biden and Xi never traveled anywhere close to 17,000 to 18,000 miles with each other; however, they did travel great distances to frequently meet and spend time together when Biden was vice president, according to the Washington Post. In fact, Biden and the Communist leader met each other in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015, the outlet noted.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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