Much like his presidential origin story, Biden's farewell address was full of claims that don't pass the smell test.
President Joe Biden has spent his career claiming achievements not his own and spinning yarns, tanking his 1988 presidential campaign, for instance, both with lies about easily disproven academic achievements and by plagiarizing a speech nearly verbatim — with accompanying autobiographic details and Welsh syntax — from a British politician.
Owing to the decrepitude that spiked his 2024 presidential campaign, the 82-year-old Democrat has found it increasingly difficult in recent years to knit convincing claims — such as when he pushed the unsubstantiated "suckers" and "losers" smear against President-elect Donald Trump; pushed the false "very fine people" hoax in his often-told presidential origin story; speaking of his uncle's supposed consumption by New Guinea cannibals; detailing his meeting with a then-dead Amtrak conductor; and claiming he was at Ground Zero in New York City the day after 9/11.
While losing his touch, Biden tried his apparent best Wednesday night in his 17-minute farewell address from the Oval Office to the nation to remain consistent, pushing easily unraveled half-truths and other questionable claims about his supposed accomplishments, then bemoaning the demise of the fact-check regime that aided him in 2020.
The great liberator
At the outset, Biden, who proved unable to seal the deal over the previous 15 months, claimed responsibility for the ceasefire and hostage deal reached this week between Israel and Hamas without once mentioning the major role played by Trump.
'The involvement of President-elect Trump's team has been absolutely critical.'
Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told the Associated Press that Trump's threats against the terrorists and efforts to lean on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through his incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff proved consequential.
