'You can't be serious': Joe Biden slammed over series of baseless claims during interview with Howard Stern

WASHINGTON, DC: President Biden found himself under intense scrutiny following a rare live interview with radio host Howard Stern on Friday, April 26.

Critics, including media outlets and commentators, levied accusations of truth-stretching against the President, pointing to various claims made during the hour-long conversation.

Among the topics discussed during the interview were Biden's recollections of a debate with former President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election and an incident from his teenage years where he claimed to have been arrested at a Delaware desegregation protest.

Questionable recollections

One of the most debated moments occurred when Biden shared what he said his mother had told him about accepting then-Senator Barack Obama's invitation to be his running mate in the 2008 presidential election.

Biden narrated the incident, stating, "She said, ‘Remember when they were desegregating Lynnfield, the neighborhood … suburbia — and I told you — and there was a Black family moving in and there was — people were down there protesting; I told you not to go down there, and you went down, remember that? And you got arrested standing on the porch with a Black family? And they brought you back, the police?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, Mom, I remember that.’"

However, The New York Times challenged the veracity of this claim, stating, "There is no evidence that he was ever arrested at a civil-rights protest."

CNN echoed this sentiment, highlighting in a fact check that there is "no evidence Biden ever got arrested during a civil rights protest, as the Washington Post and PolitiFact found when they looked into this claim in 2022 – and Biden has at least twice told the story of his supposed presence at this particular Delaware protest without mentioning any arrest, instead claiming that the police merely took him home that day."

This wasn't the only instance where Biden's statements drew skepticism. CNN fact-checked Biden's assertion during a recent campaign event in Florida where he claimed to have driven an 18-wheeler truck.

"Biden has repeatedly embellished or invented biographical tidbits. In 2021, he claimed during a tour of a Mack Trucks facility: 'I used to drive an 18-wheeler, man,' then added, ‘I got to.’ At a separate 2021 event, he told college students studying truck technology, 'I used to drive a tractor-trailer,' adding, 'I only did it for part of a summer, but I got my license anyway,'" the outlet reported.

CNN reiterated that there is no evidence to support Biden's claims of having operated such vehicles, pointing out discrepancies in his previous statements regarding his past experiences.

Criticism also extended to Biden's claims about receiving "salacious pictures" from women in the 1970s during his time as a senator, which he allegedly gave to the Secret Service.

While discussing this during the interview with Stern, Biden stated, "I got put in that ten most eligible bachelors list … and a lot of lovely women… would send very salacious pictures, and I'd just give them to the Secret Service. I thought somebody would think I was —," before shifting topics.

Criticism also extended to social media, where conservative commentators like Greg Price questioned the truthfulness of Biden's remarks during the interview.

Price highlighted several alleged fabrications, including Biden's claims of saving lives as a lifeguard and his supposed achievements in high school football.

Even Fox News' Jeanine Pirro weighed in, questioning Biden's ability to engage in debates if "he can't even keep his lies straight."

This isn't the first time Biden's remarks have come under fire for their accuracy. Earlier this month, during a visit to a war memorial, Biden appeared to suggest that his uncle was eaten by cannibals after his plane was shot down during World War II, a claim later debunked by the White House press secretary.

"He flew single-engine planes, reconnaissance flights over New Guinea. He had volunteered because someone couldn't make it. He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time," Biden said at the time. "They never recovered his body."

Social media backlash

The reaction on social media mirrored the criticism from commentators and media outlets, with users chiming in what they perceived as a pattern of dishonesty from the President.

"Biden lies about everything," one posted on X.

"Will never do a real interview," another chimed in.

"You can't be serious," someone else fumed.

"Man cannot open his mouth without telling some lie. When he says it’s the truth you know he lying," another alleged.

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