NYT Fluffs Biden, Says Lies Are “Folksy”

It seemed like there wasn’t a day that went by during the last administration that an army of MSM fact-checkers scrutinized every syllable uttered by Donald Trump in search of ammunition for their latest hit-piece.

When it comes to Biden – a serial liar and plagiarist, who for decades lied about a drunk driver killing his first wife and daughter – the New York Times would like you to know it’s nothing more than ‘folksy’ rhetoric with ‘factual edges shaved off.’

NYT: “Biden’s folksiness can veer into folklore, with dates that don’t quite add up and details that are exaggerated or wrong, the factual edges shaved off to make them more powerful for audiences.”https://t.co/rdEfCnydYD

— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) October 11, 2022

Authored by the Times White House correspondent Michael Shear and former Politifact ‘fact-checker’ Linda Qiu, the report notes that the president “has been unable to break himself of the habit of embellishing narratives to weave a political identity,” and downplays the constant lying as nothing more than stories which are “sometimes only loosely based on the facts, to weave together his political identity.”

But Mr. Biden’s folksiness can veer into folklore, with dates that don’t quite add up and details that are exaggerated or wrong, the factual edges shaved off to make them more powerful for audiences. -NYT

Which edge was “shaved off” while Biden told people for decades that a drunk driver killed his first wife and daughter?

— Liz Mac (@TheLizMac) October 11, 2022

The article addresses Biden’s recent claim that he “had a house burn down with my wife in it” – which actually turned out to be a small kitchen fire that was extinguished in 20 minutes.

“The story is not an isolated example of embellishment,” the Times admits. “The exaggerated biography that Mr. Biden tells includes having been a fierce civil rights activist who was repeatedly arrested. He has claimed to have been an award-winning student who earned three degrees. And last week, speaking on the hurricane-devastated island of Puerto Rico, he said he had been ‘raised in the Puerto Rican community at home, politically.“

Biden:

“I got raised in the black church.”

“I got my education…in the black church.”

“I probably went to shul more than many of you did.”

“I was sort of raised in the Puerto Rican community at home, politically.” pic.twitter.com/wtBhjDdIlM

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 5, 2022

All lies.

“His stories have been repeatedly and publicly challenged, as far back as his 1987 campaign for president, when his attempts to adopt someone else’s life story as his own, and his false claims about his academic record, forced him to withdraw,” reads the report.

And of course, the Times was sure to note that former President Trump “lied constantly,” and that “Biden’s fictions are nowhere near that scale.”

A spokesperson for Biden “disputed the characterization of Mr. Biden as a serial exaggerator,” while author Eric Alterman told the Times; “With Biden, people have decided these are not the kind of lies that matter,” adding “These are the kinds of lies that people’s grandfathers tell.“

Whataboutism

As Fox News notes,

The Times then examined Biden’s recent claim that he had been “raised in the Puerto Rican community at home,” which appears to be a downright fib.  

“Biden made not a single mention of Puerto Rico in either of his biographies,” the Times reported before getting into whataboutism. 

“Many presidents, of course, have stretched the truth — in ways big and small,” the Times article said, noting that Bill Clinton famously lied under oath and “[Ronald] Reagan exaggerated his own actions.” -NYT

After two years the @NYTimes finally notices Biden’s habitual lying – but excuses it: “a good and decent man who… felt like he could stretch the truth up to a point just like virtually every president has done,” . And of course “Trump Is Worse”. 😂 https://t.co/ENaYXyErK7

— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) October 11, 2022

This is the most cleaned up, soft landing a journalist can spin on behalf of a politician.

In the real world, the headline would be “Biden Frequently Caught Lying”
https://t.co/8BNPBSLJnB

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) October 11, 2022

Joe Biden is a pathological liar, and he has been his entire life. No amount of PR work and whataboutism by @nytimes is going to change that.https://t.co/s2BbcKderF

— Brent Bozell (@BrentBozell) October 11, 2022