The same “independent fact-checkers” who routinely review everything coming out of Donald Trump’s mouth and Truth Social account don’t do the same for the current president. Joe Biden gave a big farewell speech on Wednesday night.
After a few days, we can ask: Which “fact checker” reviewed anything in the speech? Starting with the notion the Big Tech executives are forming an “oligarchy” with Trump? (As if Big Tech didn’t oligarch it up with Biden in 2020?) Almost everybody failed.
AP Fact Check: No.
Reuters Fact Check: No.
Glenn Kessler and The Washington Post: No.
Linda Qiu and The New York Times: No.
Daniel Dale and CNN: No. But at least they fact-checked Biden on January 8…in the midst of constantly checking on Trump.
Snopes.com: No. They actually did the reverse! They “fact checked” the Media Research Center’s Twitter/X account for mocking Biden saying “end of quote.” But he meant to do that! They checked this:
U.S. President Joe Biden mistakenly said “end of quote” which he was not supposed to read off the teleprompter during his farewell address on Jan. 15, 2025.
Ruling: FALSE! It wasn’t a mistake:
Uh oh, Biden loses to the teleprompter one last time reads “end of quote” again. pic.twitter.com/odTSdRx4I4
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) January 16, 2025
If Team Biden meant to do that, maybe they could just not put those words in the Teleprompter, and have him say “unquote.”
USA Today: No, but they ALSO rushed to defend Biden on “end of quote.”
Lead Stories: No, but they ALSO rushed to defend Biden, on the assertion that Biden wasn’t speaking live, but was pre-recorded.
PolitiFact: No, but they continued to demonstrate their partisanship. On Sunday night, PolitiFact was “fact checking” Trump’s pre-Inauguration rally in real time.
The top story all weekend tagged J.D. Vance as “Mostly False” on the Los Angeles wildfires. And then also sticking up for Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom on the wildfires:
Following social media posts, Gavin Newsom said it was a “ridiculous lie” that he cut $100 million for fire prevention. The 2024-25 budget did cut wildfire funding, but that followed increases during a budget surplus. https://t.co/OJjVIxN042
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) January 19, 2025
They ran a “fact check” of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, and Pam Bondi’s. But not Biden’s bye-bye speech.
FactCheck.org: Yes, suggesting they’re the only website that can occasionally demonstrate they’re checking on both sides of the political divide after prominent speeches and news events. They elaborated on the following problem areas.
In his farewell address to the nation and in other recent remarks, President Joe Biden has repeated claims that are misleading or need additional context.
Biden said, “We’ve created nearly 17 million new jobs, more than any other single administration in a single term.” But no president’s administration is responsible for all jobs gained or lost. Furthermore, on a percentage basis, job growth was higher during President Jimmy Carter’s four-year presidency and during President Lyndon Johnson’s one full term.
He boasted about “bringing violent crime to a 50-year low,” a statistic that’s correct or nearly so, according to FBI data. But the violent crime rate has been relatively stable for a decade, and presidents have little to do with noticeable changes in crime.
Biden misleadingly claimed that billionaires “paid an average of 8.2% in federal taxes.” That figure is a White House calculation that includes earnings on unsold assets and stock as income.
The president stretched the facts when touting “Buy America” laws and claiming that “past administrations … failed to buy American.” He has expanded such requirements on federal spending, but we found no indication that his predecessors had violated the laws during their tenures.
