WASHINGTON — The Washington Post on Monday crowned President Biden with its Trump-era “bottomless Pinocchio” rating after he spoke multiple untruths and made several blunders ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
It’s the first time the newspaper has “awarded” Biden the not-so-coveted rating, which it defines as a statement repeated at least 20 times that is so untrue that he received either “three Pinocchios” or “four Pinocchios.” ” on before times.
The statement in question is Biden’s oft-repeated assertion that he has spent “more time with [Chinese President] Xi Jinping than any other head of state”, traveling “17,000 miles with him”. The statement turned out to be false, with the White House in February 2021 telling the newspaper that it was “a reference to total round trips – both to the United States and China, as well as to internationally – for the meetings they held together. ”
But even that claim turned out to be inaccurate.
“There is no evidence that Biden has traveled this much with Xi, the President of China – and even if we added up the miles Biden traveled to see Xi, it still did not add up to 17,000 miles,” he wrote on Monday. Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler.
Biden made the comment for the 20th and 21st times at political events in California and New Mexico last week.
The newspaper created the “bottomless” memo under the Trump administration to describe “false or misleading statements repeated so often that they have become a form of propaganda.” Trump had 56 such ratings by the time he left office in January 2021.
Kessler also called out the president for claiming that “the most common price for gas in America is $3.39 – up from over $5 when I took office,” he said Oct. 27. .
Biden repeated the claim on Twitter on Sunday, noting that “the most common price at gas stations across the country is $3.19.”
The problem lies in Biden’s use of the term “most common” – which does not equate to “average”. The average price at the pump when he took office was about $2.48, according to the Energy Information Administration.
While it’s true that the most common gas price – or the mathematical “mode” of all prices – was around $3.19, according to the GasBuddy app, the average gas price was around $3. $.80 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA.
By referring to the most often seen price, Biden avoided having to incorporate some of the highest prices seen in the United States into his tally.
The Washington Post also criticized the White House for boasting both in public remarks and in a deleted Nov. 1 tweet that seniors were “getting their Social Security biggest boost in 10 years thanks to the president’s leadership.” Biden”.
While the remark is technically true, it’s not because of some huge administration feat. The reason for the rise is soaring inflation: a 1972 law stipulates that social security must be adjusted each year to keep up with inflation rates.
So seniors over 65 and other eligible recipients will see about an 8.7% increase in their benefits next year, according to the Social Security Administration, costing taxpayers about $100 billion.
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