In a speech announcing the framework for a pared-down spending plan, President Joe Biden made some questionable claims.
Biden Spins Facts on Framework
Person: Joe Biden
FactChecking Biden’s Town Hall
We spotted a few instances in President Joe Biden’s televised town hall when his answers didn’t square with the facts.
Trump and Son Whitewash Vaccine Willingness Before Biden
Former President Donald Trump and his son Eric have been dishing out revisionist history with claims that vaccine hesitancy soared once Biden assumed office and that “people were getting the vaccine in record numbers” until Biden implemented vaccine mandates.
U.S. Is Sending Aid to Independent Groups in Afghanistan, Not the Taliban
The U.S. is providing humanitarian aid through several independent organizations in Afghanistan, but not through the Taliban government. Yet an online article falsely claims that the Biden administration will “send the Taliban millions in US dollars,” and repeats a debunked claim about the cost of U.S. military weapons left after the U.S. withdrawal.
The COVID-19 Recession Officially Ended Before Biden Took Office
The recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic officially lasted just two months and ended in April 2020. But Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrongly credited President Joe Biden for guiding “this economy out of the teeth of a terrifying recession.”
OECD Data Conflict With Biden’s Educational Attainment Claim
As of 2020, almost 52% of the U.S. population 25 to 34 years old had earned a postsecondary degree — 11th among the 38 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That statistic conflicts with President Joe Biden’s claim about educational attainment in the U.S.
GOP Group’s Ad Spins Biden Tax Plan on Family Farms
A Republican group’s TV ad falsely claims that President Joe Biden’s tax plans would force the sale of family farms passed on to children due to burdensome taxes.
Migrants Not Responsible for Latest COVID-19 Surge
Infectious disease experts say low vaccination rates, resistance to protective measures such as wearing a mask and the highly transmissible delta variant are driving the current surge of COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
Republicans Mischaracterize Proposed Financial Reporting Requirement
To help detect unreported income and narrow the gap between federal taxes collected and owed, the Biden administration has proposed expanding annual reporting requirements for banks and other financial institutions to include the total amounts of money flowing in and out of all business and personal accounts worth at least $600.
White House and HHS Employees Aren’t ‘Exempt’ from Vaccine Mandate
While some specifics of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates haven’t been determined, misleading claims about who will be “exempt” have circulated online. Employees at the White House and in agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services are subject to Biden’s executive order requiring federal employees to be vaccinated.