EVEN THE WASHINGTON POST CALLS OUT BIDEN FOR THE LIAR HE IS ..... AWARDS THE LIAR-IN-CHIEF A 'BOTTOMLESS PINOCCHIO' RATING

Biden earns a 'Bottomless Pinocchio' rating from the Washington Post for series of debunked and misleading claims on gas prices, Social Security and Xi Jinping

'Folks, I spent a lot of time — more time with Xi Jinping than any other head of state. … I've traveled 17,000 miles with him,' Biden said at a rally in San Diego. The Post noted that Biden is particularly fond of the claim - having made it now 21 times throughout his presidency

 

By Norgan Phillips

 

Daily Mail

November 7, 2002

 

 President Biden landed a 'bottomless Pinocchio' rating from the Washington Post on the eve of Election Day which the Post describes as 'false or misleading statements repeated so often that they became a form of propaganda.'

 

President Biden landed a 'bottomless Pinocchio' rating from the Washington Post on the eve of Election Day as the Washington Post rounded up all of his recent false and misleading statements. 

Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler noted deceptions in Biden's claims about traveling with Xi Jinping, how much gas prices have come down under his administration and increasing Social Security checks. 

'Folks, I spent a lot of time — more time with Xi Jinping than any other head of state. … I've traveled 17,000 miles with him,' Biden said at a rally in San Diego on Nov. 3

The Post noted that Biden is particularly fond of the claim - having made it now 21 times throughout his presidency - and there is no evidence to show he's traveled with the Chinese leader anywhere close to that much. 

Biden made the claim in reference to another anecdote he likes to tell where Xi allegedly asked him on the Tibetan Plateau, 'Can you define America for me?' 

 

Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler noted deceptions in Biden's claims about traveling with Xi Jinping, how much gas prices have come down under his administration and increasing Social Security checks

 

'And I said, 'Yes, one word: possibilities. Possibilities,'' Biden recounted. 'We believe anything is possible. We really do.'

Before being elected vice president, Biden spent more than two decades as ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and frequently touts his foreign policy credentials. Biden was assigned the task of getting to know Xi when it became clear under the Biden administration that he would be next in line for the presidency in China. 

The White House has never explained the figure. If Biden's travel with Xi - in the same plane or vehicle - is totaled up, it's far less than 17,000. If his travel to meet with Xi is tallied, it's more. 

For this claim Biden received the 'bottomless Pinocchio,' which the Post describes as 'false or misleading statements repeated so often that they became a form of propaganda.'

One of Biden's more outlandish claims is that gas cost $5 a gallon when he took office and his administration has worked to bring the 'most common' price down to $3.39. 

'Today, the most common price of gas in America is $3.39 — down from over $5 when I took office,' Biden said at a rally in Syracuse, N.Y. on Oct. 27. 

The average gas price the week Biden took office was $2.48 - prices did not average $5 per gallon until June of this year. Days after making the remark in New York Biden made the a similar claim but cleaned it up, saying prices were over $5 in June. 

Biden also carefully referred to the 'most common' price, not the average, because prices in states like California would jack up the average. Today's average gas price is $3.80. 

Another of the Biden White House's misleading claims: 'On my watch, for the first time in 10 years, seniors are getting an increase in their Social Security checks,' which he said in Florida on Nov. 1 and his Twitter account was fact checked for posting.

 

'Folks, I spent a lot of time — more time with Xi Jinping than any other head of state. … I've traveled 17,000 miles with him,' Biden said at a rally in San Diego on Nov. 3

 

The White House was forced into an embarrassing walk back Tuesday, deleting the tweet that claimed Biden was responsible for seniors getting the biggest increase in Social Security checks in a decade. 

As fact checkers were quick to point out, the increase is based on the rate of inflation and required by law. Next year benefits will increase 8.7 percent thanks to 40-year-high inflation. 

At first, Twitter added a note to the original Tuesday afternoon tweet.

'Seniors will receive a large Social Security benefit increase due to the annual cost of living adjustment, which is based on the inflation rate,' it said.

'President Nixon in 1972 signed into law automatic benefit adjustment tied to the Consumer Price Index.'

It included a link to the relevant legislation.

As the Post notes Biden also recently made an odd claim that he had passed legislation to forgive student loans. The president notably did not get congressional approval to cancel student loans, a point critics pounced on to claim his plan was unlawful. 

“You are probably aware that I just signed a law that is being challenged by my Republican colleagues. … What we’ve provided for is, if you went to school, if you qualified for a Pell Grant … you qualify for $20,000 in debt forgiveness. Secondly, if you don’t have one of those loans, you just get $10,000 written off. It’s passed. I got it passed by a vote or two,' Biden said at a NowThis forum on October 23. 

Biden instead bypassed Congress and relied on a Department of Justice interpretation of a 2003 post-9/11 law that allows the education secretary to relieve student borrowers of their federal debts in emergencies. Both Trump and Biden used the law to pause payments during the pandemic.

An appeals court paused the plan on Oct. 21 in response to a suit from Republican attorneys general. 

The White House said that Biden misspoke and meant to refer to the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed on a party line vote and had nothing to do with student loans. 

Biden's approval rating is hovering around 42 percent heading into Election Day in a sign that could spell trouble for Democrats. The party not in the White House has the historical advantage in midterm elections, and polling indicates Republicans have a safe bet at taking back the House and have a chance to seize power in the Senate.