OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
Joe Biden recently claimed that he was arrested more than once while speaking to an audience of black students. Biden says the first arrest occurred during the civil rights movement.
In an expansive fact-check by The Washington Post, even the left-wing newspaper awarded Biden its highest honor for lying — four Pinocchios.
While in Atlantia, Biden told the students that “I was there as well,” referring to the civil rights movement. “Because I’m so damn old,” Biden added.
“You think I’m kidding, man,” Biden continued. “It seems like yesterday the first time I got arrested.”
And there’s the whopper.
Fact-checker Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post explains, “It was just a throwaway line” and “made to laughter.”
Biden even suggested he had been arrested more than once by claiming this was the “first time.” Again, another lie.
Even in his memoir, Biden never claims to have been arrested. He’s only been “taken home” by police, which obviously isn’t the same as an arrest.
This was an important presidential speech as our country can recall some of the heroes of the civil rights movement. Biden simply isn’t one of them.
It’s worth noting that The Washington Post strongly supported Biden throughout the 2020 campaign and endorsed his run for president.
The Post explains, “It’s possible that police might have taken the young Biden home from a dangerous situation — as he said twice — but that’s not an arrest.”
“Moreover, one would think such a memorable incident would have made it into one of Biden’s memoirs. Instead, it’s not mentioned in the book that specifically references the conversation with his mother about joining the ticket.”
“Ordinarily, one would think such a memorable moment in a young man’s life would have merited an earlier recounting,” Kessler writes.
“The primary source for this story is Biden — and we’ve learned over the years that he is not always a reliable source,” the Post continues.
“He appears to be citing his mother to enhance his civil rights credentials — which we have noted he has exaggerated before — but too many elements do not add up to give this ‘arrest’ more credibility than his previous claims of getting in trouble with the law,” the paper wrote.
Biden has repeated many lies during his 47+ years in public office.
Notoriously, he once claimed he was also arrested in the 1970s in South Africa when he tried to visit Nelson Mandela in prison.
Biden claims he was arrested in Soweto, which is about 900 miles from where Mandela was at the time. This memorable arrest also conveniently never made it into his memoir either.
Multiple fact-checks on this issue have “turned up no references to an arrest.”
