As Twitchy reported last Friday, 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden was called out by the New York Times after he claimed he “had the great honor of being arrested with our U.N. ambassador on the streets of Soweto” trying to visit Nelson Mandela. As the Times reported, though, the U.N. ambassador in the story remembered things a little differently.
According to the New York Times, Biden’s been saying this on the campaign trail but “there are no media accounts to back it up and it contradicts what he wrote in his memoirs.”
Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post’s fact-checker, looked into Biden’s story and awarded him four Pinocchios, calling the story “ridiculous.”
New #FactChecker –> Biden’s ridiculous claim he was arrested trying to see Mandela https://t.co/OWaJkXGK7J
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) February 25, 2020
Joe Biden has told voters at least three times that he was arrested in South Africa while trying to visit Nelson Mandela. He has also said Mandela thanked him for being arrested. There’s no evidence to back up either claim, @GlennKesslerWP reports. https://t.co/iTgKumSqUh
— Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) February 25, 2020
Kessler writes:
Biden, as a senator, was active in the anti-apartheid movement, helping pass sanctions on companies doing business in South Africa over President Ronald Reagan’s veto. But there is no evidence that Biden was ever arrested trying to see the imprisoned future president of a democratic South Africa.
As the Times noted, Biden’s memoir makes no mention of any such arrest. As far as we can tell, Biden never mentioned this arrest before; neither can we locate any news accounts of him being arrested.
…
Biden’s second statement — that Mandela thanked him for being arrested — also is not credible. In 2013, Biden merely said that Mandela thanked him for his efforts to end apartheid.
The Washington Post also reached out to the U.N. ambassador who supposedly was arrested with Biden. “There is no chance I ever was arrested in South Africa, and I don’t think Joe was, either,” said [Andrew] Young. That’s two papers now that have contacted Young, who denies it happened.
Should be really fun hearing him explain this tonight on the debate stage.
I expect a lot of stuttering…
— InMyHumbleOpinion (@IMHO1969) February 25, 2020
Will anyone even ask?
— Rill-Liberty (@ThAlMeArCrEq) February 25, 2020
Of course not.
Just baffling, considering plagiarism ruined his prior campaigns that he would just steam ahead with this blatant fabrication
— Matthew Kitson (@mwk89) February 25, 2020
Cheese is off the cracker
— Anthony Dattomo (@tdattomo) February 25, 2020
Who WOULDNT get mixed up about being arrested in a foreign country while trying to visit a Nobel Laureate who became the president of that country? But seriously, Biden is a serial liar and plagiarist spanning decades.
— Guy Ivester (@IvesterGuy) February 25, 2020
Grandpa Biden probably saw a movie where someone was arrested in South Africa, took a nap, and woke up thinking it was him.
— stephen willis (@swillis7106) February 25, 2020
This is how you know Biden is an ancient, out-of-touch politician.
He thinks it's still like the old days, before the Internet, where fact checking was much more difficult.
— VR Cue (@VRCue) February 25, 2020
We can only wonder about the nature of the fantasy world Joe’s mind is descending into. While I hope he doesn’t suffer as he leaves reality, he really ought to do it more privately.
Or perhaps more slowly if he is to reserve his spot until someone else takes it at the convention.— Glenn Goodman (@hbhbglenn1) February 25, 2020
You’d be amazed at how many people in the comments are angry at the Washington Post for looking into this story. Either it’s no big deal or President Trump lies more seem to be the two arguments; that, or Biden just doesn’t remember.
Sounds like a Brian Williams “I was in the lead chopper being fired at story”.
— Dave Dirty Mongolian Coal (@Aetnerd) February 25, 2020
So what, we know his is a degenerate liar.. similar to Hillary telling everyone that she was under sniper fire.
— David Marshall (@davmarshall2005) February 25, 2020
It’s funny: the absolutely ridiculous stuff — like Biden’s run-in with CornPop — turns out to be true, while stories like this one are bogus. Will it hurt Biden at all in South Carolina? We doubt it.
Related:
SIREN: It appears Joe Biden has been lying about a trip he took to South Africa to meet Mandela https://t.co/8GKWP1DaOo
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 21, 2020
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