Fact Check: Did Biden admit Obama and Elizabeth Warren ran the White House during his presidency?
WASHINGTON, DC: A rumor has been circulating on social media platforms claiming that former President Joe Biden admitted that former President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren were in charge of the White House while he was in office, sparking speculation.
Let us analyze the viral rumor and fact-check its authenticity.
Claim: Obama and Elizabeth Warren were running the office during Biden's tenure
According to the viral claim, Biden, in his latest interview with MSNBC's Jen Psaki, admitted that there were ‘very smart people’ in charge while he was in office.
The post claims that when Psaki asked him to clarify, he had already wandered off to another topic. Later, when she brought it back up, he allegedly said, "Well...Barack and Liz Warren and a few other people were always there to counsel me."
The claim has spread on X and Facebook, garnering hundreds of thousands of views, with netizens expressing anger, while a few others rejected the claim as fake.
Fact Check: Joe Biden made no such statement
The claim, however, is false, as there are no recent interviews between Biden and Psaki available on MSNBC in which the former president admitted that Obama and Warren were running the office during his tenure. There is also no reliable evidence supporting the viral claim.
A Google search for Biden’s alleged remark yielded no credible reports from prominent news outlets, which, if true, would likely have been widely covered and triggered large-scale criticism against the Democrats.
Moreover, the post was accompanied by a picture of Biden and Psaki that included overlay text in the top-left corner stating, ‘Nothing on this page is real.’ Hence, the claim was intended as satire and made for engagement purposes.
Report blames Biden allies for Harris’ 2024 loss
The claim likely surfaced after a report commissioned following the Democrats’ defeat in the 2024 presidential election revealed that the party’s infighting played a key role in the loss, as allies of Biden failed to provide Harris with the support she needed.
According to the report, Biden’s inner circle and allies did not spend enough time strengthening Harris’ public image during the years she served as vice president.
It further stated that Biden’s team failed to conduct sufficient polling and research beforehand to determine whether Harris would be a strong replacement candidate if Biden exited the race.
