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Civil Rights Activism: Biden has claimed to have been arrested while protesting for civil rights, but there is no evidence to support this.1
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Personal Tragedies: He has at times conflated personal tragedies, such as the death of his son Beau Biden from cancer, with military service in Iraq.2
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Academic Record: In a 1987 speech, Biden claimed he graduated in the top half of his law school class, but he actually graduated 76th in a class of 85.3
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"Uncle Bosie": Biden has repeatedly told a story about his uncle, Ambrose J.4 Finnegan Jr., being shot down during World War II and his body being eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea. The Defense Department has stated that Finnegan's plane was lost in the Pacific Ocean and his remains were not recovered.5
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Policy and Economic Claims
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Inflation: Biden has made various claims about the state of inflation, including stating that it was 9% when he took office, but the inflation rate was actually much lower at that time.6
The Economy: While discussing the economy, he has made claims about job creation and unemployment rates that have been fact-checked as misleading or exaggerated, often by not accounting for the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.7
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Taxes: Biden's statements about his tax plans have been subject to scrutiny.8 For instance, he has claimed that his proposals would not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000, while analyses have shown that some of his policies could indirectly impact this group.
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Prescription Drug Costs: He has overstated the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on drug costs, for example, by claiming the out-of-pocket cost for an insulin shot is $15, while the cap for Medicare recipients is actually $35 per month.9
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Political and Public Statements
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"Inject Bleach": Biden has claimed that Donald Trump told people to "inject bleach" to treat COVID-19. Fact-checkers have noted that Trump's comment was a question to doctors about whether disinfectant could be used to treat the virus, which, while dangerous, was not an instruction to inject it.10
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Political Violence: Biden has stated that political violence in America is "unheard of," a claim that has been widely disputed due to numerous recent events.11
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The Equal Rights Amendment: On one of his last days in office, Biden issued a statement claiming that the Equal Rights Amendment had become part of the Constitution, a legally disputed statement.12
"Corn Pop" Story: Biden has a well-known, and often-mocked, story about a confrontation he had with a man named "Corn Pop" at a swimming pool when he was a lifeguard. While some elements of the story, like the existence of a person named Corn Pop, have been corroborated by local news obituaries, the specifics of the confrontation have been widely questioned and a source of political jokes.
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Confusing World Leaders: A recurring issue has been Biden's tendency to confuse world leaders, both living and deceased.1 He has referred to the Ukrainian President as "Putin" and has also claimed to have met with figures like former French President François Mitterrand and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, both of whom had died before the time of the alleged meetings.2
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"Stand Up, Chuck": During a 2008 campaign stop, Biden told Missouri State Senator Chuck Graham to "stand up, Chuck, let them see you," not realizing that Graham was in a wheelchair due to a car accident.3 Biden apologized, but the incident became a notable gaffe.
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Plagiarism: In 1987, Biden was forced to drop out of his first presidential campaign after it was revealed he had plagiarized parts of a speech from British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.4 He also faced accusations of plagiarizing in law school.5
Policy and Economic Claims
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Social Security and Medicare: Biden has repeatedly claimed that Republicans want to "cut" Social Security and Medicare, a frequent line of attack.6 Fact-checkers have noted that while some Republican proposals have aimed to reform or slow the growth of these programs, the claim that there is a widespread, unified plan to "cut" benefits is a significant exaggeration of a complex policy debate.
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Inflation and the Economy: Biden often took credit for job creation and a strong economy, but fact-checkers have pointed out that many of these gains were part of a natural recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.7 He has also been criticized for misstating facts about inflation, such as his claim that it was 9% when he took office, when the rate was actually much lower.8
Prescription Drug Costs: While the Inflation Reduction Act did cap insulin costs for Medicare recipients at $35 a month and will eventually cap all out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year, Biden has sometimes presented these benefits as if they apply universally, when they are limited to Medicare enrollees. He has also overstated the impact of his policies on lowering drug prices for all Americans.
