FACT CHECK: Did Biden Mistake The Pope For An African American Baseball Player?
A video shared on social media purportedly shows President Joe Biden mistaking Pope Francis for a former baseball player.
On 10/29/21, the avatar of Joe Biden called the avatar of Pope Francis an African American baseball player in America. The Pope says “I know, I know” pic.twitter.com/qx5H5nRxFO
— GorillaB369 (@GorillaB5) July 4, 2023
Verdict: Misleading
The claim is inaccurate. The video has been edited to remove context.
Fact Check:
The Secret Service evacuated the White House on Sunday when a white powdery substance was found in the common area of the West Wing, The Associated Press reported. Emergency crews arrived and determined that it was cocaine.
The Twitter post purports Biden confused the Pope for a former African American baseball player. The post shares a short clip from a meeting the President had with the Pope at the Vatican in which it appears Biden referred to the Pope as such.
“On 10/29/21, the avatar of Joe Biden called the avatar of Pope Francis an African American baseball player in America,” the caption reads. “The Pope says ‘I know, I know.'”
The video is misleading. The short clip is missing context for the conversations. The full video reveals that Biden was talking to Francis about getting old and staying effective in their positions and he told a story about Satchel Paige, the former baseball player. Biden told Francis that Paige was able to play baseball well into his forties even though most pitchers can’t play after 35.
Biden met with the pontiff for 90-minutes in Oct. 2021. Francis claimed that Biden was a “good Catholic” and should continue to receive communion. Forbes reported at the time that Biden thanked the Pope for his advocacy for people in poor countries and his commitment to supporting them. (RELATED: Donald Trump Makes Misleading Claims About Ron DeSantis’s Actions On Vaccines)
This is not the first time a misinformation has been shared online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim from Presidential candidate Nikki Haley saying that China has the largest navy in the world.
