Yet the media isn’t censoring him the way it censored Trump
The following was first published on Sharyl Attkisson’s Substack. Subscribe for free!
The organized efforts by media to disparage, censor, and “fact check” the president in real time apparently came to an end with Joe Biden’s presidency.
As president, Donald Trump was frequently challenged, beleaguered, and cancelled by news media and social media outlets in real time, even when he was giving opinions or stating true facts. He remains largely censored, today. But Biden has had free rein to forward false information and misinformation without serious challenge or the same repercussions.
For example, unlike what happened with Trump, there are no visible calls among the news media or social media to censor Biden, cancel his White House account, or stop carrying his statements and events live, even though he has said many provably false things.
After the first 2024 presidential debate, some media outlets were finally compelled to (begrudgingly, perhaps) address Biden’s colossal errors and misstatements, along with Trump’s (although sometimes the “fact checks” are factually questionable). It’s easy to find those analyses online.
Not so easy to find is a concise summary of some of the top whoppers Biden told during his first debate against Trump. So here it is!
1. “Losers and Suckers”
In the debate, Biden repeated the unsubstantiated allegation that Trump had insulted veterans and called them “losers and suckers,” even though that narrative was disputed by more than a dozen witnesses who’d been present when the words were alleged to have been spoken.
Fired Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly was the official, or was among the officials who made the claim. News outlets relying on the same anonymous source or sources repeated the claim, first published by Jeffrey Goldberg in the left-leaning The Atlantic based on anonymous sourcing.
In fact, on Sept. 8, 2020, Trump critic John Bolton was the latest in a series of on-the-record, firsthand sources to debunk Goldberg’s The Atlantic report. Goldberg alleged that Trump faked the cancellation of a helicopter trip to a French cemetery in 2018 where fallen US soldiers were buried because he didn’t want his hair messed up by the weather, and that Trump referred to the dead troops as “losers” and “suckers.”
“That was simply false. I don’t know who told the author [Jeffrey Goldberg] that,” said Bolton, who was in the room in Paris when the decision was made. “The president assented to the recommendation that he not go. It was a very straight weather call.”
Shortly after the initial report, the Trump White House denied the allegations and released documentation also showing there was, indeed, a weather cancellation, and that the call was made by military officials.
Bolton and others also said Trump did not call fallen soldiers names during the meeting in question or at any time that they ever heard.
Later in interviews, Goldberg acknowledged a key point of his story may be wrong, admitting that there could have been a weather cancellation of the helicopter trip.
In all, 21 on the record sources disputed the “losers and suckers” claims.
Nonetheless, Biden recounted the story and told Trump that he’s the one who is a “loser” and a “sucker.”
2. “Inject Bleach”
Biden also repeatedly stated that Trump, as president, told people to “inject bleach” as a treatment for Covid.
This was a popular misinformation talking point, but it was proven that Trump never said it.
Fabrications that Trump told people to “drink” or “inject” bleach were spread in 2020 after Trump alluded to new research and studies on using disinfectants to treat Covid.
Indeed, in December of 2021, one such study compared two bleach-like disinfectants and concluded that “Chlorine dioxide is a more potent antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2 than sodium hypochlorite.”
According to published information, “Chlorine dioxide is a gas used in very small quantities to disinfect water…Chlorine dioxide kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Very small amounts are used in public water treatment facilities.”
3. “Fentanyl is Down”
At one point in the debate, Biden delcared, “Fentanyl is down.”
It was unclear on whether he was referring to illegal importation of fentanyl, fentanyl use, fentanyl deaths, or some other facet. Regardless, statistics show all of these things have increased under Biden’s presidency.
4. “No Loss of US Troops”
During the debate, Biden claimed that he is the first president in a century (then corrected it to first in a “decade”) to not lose any US troops.
He seemingly forgot about the 13 American soldiers killed in the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The 13 troops were killed on August 26, 2021, in a bombing by Islamic extremist terrorists as the US pulled out of Afghanistan. They include 11 Marines and a navy medic.
Also killed were an estimated 90 Afghans. Additionally, a family of 10 Afghans, including seven children, was killed by a missile fired from a US drone. Apparently, the US had mistakenly the family for terrorists. Nobody was held accountable.
5. Illegal Immigration is “40% Lower” Than Under Trump
Biden falsely claimed illegal immigration is 40% lower than when Trump was president.
It’s a well-documented fact that illegal immigration has skyrocketed, hitting one record high after another, under the Biden administration.
6. Trump Called Nazis “Fine People”
Biden repeated the false claim that Trump called Nazis “fine people.”
This is another repeat of false information widely circulated in the media during the Trump presidency.
On Aug. 15, 2017, at a news conference, President Trump gave his initial response to protests in Charlottesville, Virginia over the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. The protests had turned violent. One protester plowed his car into a group, killing a woman.
The media falsely reported that Trump referred to Nazis and white supremacists at the protests as “very fine people.”
In fact, Trump explicitly, repeatedly condemned any white supremacists. He stated, for example, “we condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence. It has no place in America.”
Trump also stated, “I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups.” He added, “But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee…you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”
Clearly, Trump condemned Nazis and white supremacists, and made the explicit distinction that not everyone who was protesting fell into that category.
7. There are “No Late Term Abortions”
During the debate, Biden also seemed to claim that it is not possible for pregnant women to get late term abortions under the Supreme Court’s original Roe v. Wade decision.
Though there may be a limited number of providers wiling to perform late term abortions, which Kaiser Family Foundation says is loosely defined as after 21 weeks of pregnancy; and while the cost can be high; late term abortions were and are permitted, depending on state law.
According to recent data, there are more than 4,100 abortions per year occurring at or after 21 weeks, and that “only includes the 41 reporting areas that report abortions to the CDC by gestational age and excludes major states such as California and New York.”
8. Biden is “Endorsed by Border Patrol”
During the debate, Biden also falsely claimed he’d been endorsed by the Border Patrol.
That prompted the Border Patrol’s union to issue a tweet stating, “To be clear, we never have and we never will endorse Biden.”
The union has endorsed Trump.
9. Biden “Lowered Cost of Insulin to $15”
During the debate, Biden claimed “We brought down the price of prescription drugs… to $15 for an insulin shot as opposed to $400.”
Biden exaggerated both the costs and savings, according to NBC.
Under pressure, some insulin makers have reduced their list price. Uninsured patients can benefit from the lower list price. But insulin was not $400 a shot, according to Health and Human Services. For Medicare recipients, it was closer to $400 a year in 2019, which averages out to $33 a month.
The Biden administration restricted the patient cost for Medicare patients to no more than $35 a month (not $15), according to NBC, which would seem to provide no meaningful savings at all for those customers.
Before leaving office, Trump had signed a Most Favored Nation drug policy which mandated that US drug companies could not charge Americans more for the same medicine than the companies were charging people in foreign countries. However, Trump’s mandate—opposed by the pharmaceutical industry—was not implemented.
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You have to understand that Biden isn’t lying per se. His significant cognitive impairment causes him to make things up. Dementia is a terrible disease.
Excellnet and timely. I will widely quote you and give you full credit. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting on this,
Good list but on #9, $15 Insulin, Biden self corrected. From transcript:
“Well, guess what? We got it – we got it down to 15 – excuse me, $35 for insulin instead of $400. No more than $2,000 for every senior no matter what they – how much prescription they need. ”
I really like sharylattkisson.com but this last item should not be on the list. It cheapens the rest.
It was obvious to many who have the facts and know the truth Biden said many lies. Isn’t that how politicians speak? Lie and maybe you’ll get away with it. The words are heard by many who just have no idea what is true and what is a lie but they hear and believe. Trump had many opportunities to call him out but didn’t. I’m guessing he didn’t know the facts either.
“Jerry — just remember — it’s not a lie if YOU believe it.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn_PSJsl0LQ
1) Since the veracity of the “suckers and losers” comment has been called into question, please allow me to point out that all Bolton and others are saying is that they never heard Trump say it. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. And since John Kelly is at the center of this story, here is what he said about Trump: “What can I add that has not already been said? A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.
“A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women. A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. A person who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior who has served his country for 40 years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason – in expectation that someone will take action. A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.
“There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.”
A few comments on this:
a) If you can read this and not think that Kelly is saying that Trump called those in the military “suckers” and “losers”, then you have a different understanding of English than I do. Kelly literally uses those words in describing Trump’s feelings about veterans.
b) It has been well documented that Trump doesn’t want wounded veterans to be part of any ceremony that he is participating in.
c) We all saw Trump’s tiff with two Gold Star families and we all saw his dismissive attitude toward McCain’s service to this country. And we all read Trump’s post about having Milley executed. So the “suckers” and “losers” comment isn’t exactly out of character.
d) Just read Kelly’s quote once or twice and explain to me how the man Kelly is describing could be the next President.
2) While it is true that Trump didn’t literally tell people to inject bleach to fight COVID, here is what he did say: “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning.” Has anything more stupid ever been said at the White House?
And claiming that “Trump alluded to new research and studies on using disinfectants to treat Covid” is pretty far off the mark. As the above quote shows, Trump literally asked about injecting bleach into the body. That went way beyond the studies that showed that bleach killed the virus quickly (on hard surfaces).
3) It is true that Biden told some lies during the debate. And it’s good to point them out. But to imply that the media is giving Biden a pass just isn’t true. Google “Biden Lies During the Debate” and you’ll see many articles critiquing both Biden’s and Trump’s statements (Daniel Dale lists nine “false or misleading” Biden statements and lists 30 for Trump). This is just more victimization talk from SA.
4) “there are no visible calls among the news media or social media to censor Biden, cancel his White House account, or stop carrying his statements and events live, even though he has said many provably false things”. Remember that Trump wasn’t suspended from Facebook and Twitter because he told lies. It was because he violated their terms of service by (according to Facebook’s official statement) “inciting violence and undermining the democratic process”. Biden has done neither of those things.
And, again, it’s not censorship if a private company does it.
The biggest whopper was “Putin wants to conquer the entire Ukraine”. I turned the debate off at that point. To quote the AP: “Putin promised Friday to “immediately” order a cease-fire in Ukraine and start negotiations if Kyiv began withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and renounced plans to join NATO.” Absolutely no mention of Odessa, which was part of Russia until transferred to Ukraine by Lenin in 1921, or Galicia, which was transferred from Poland to the Ukraine by Stalin.