FACT CHECK: Viral Image Claims To Show ‘Actual Quote’ From Joe Biden

Varun Hukeri | General Assignment & Analysis Reporter

An image shared on Facebook more than 750 times attributes a seemingly incoherent quote to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Verdict: False

There is no record of Biden making the statement.

Fact Check:

The Facebook post includes an image of Biden taken on March 12 at a press event in Wilmington, Delaware. It was taken by Saul Loeb, is licensed to Getty Images and is tagged there with the date and full context. The caption refers to the alleged statement as “an actual quote from Joe.”

Here’s the full quote attributed to Biden in the image:

Trump does then he doesn’t but I could but he won’t, so if he does and I would go then and what would people think if I don’t do that.

While Biden has, according to The Associated Press, generated attention due to verbal missteps on the campaign trail, there is no record of the former vice president making the statement. Check Your Fact didn’t find any credible media outlets quoting him as saying such a thing. A search of Rev, an online library that collects audio and video transcripts of speeches, campaign events and public appearances by the former vice president, didn’t return any matches for the quote. (RELATED: Did Joe Biden Say That He Grew Up In Section 8 Housing?)

The alleged quote has surfaced on various platforms a handful of times. One instance of the quote appeared in the comment section of an article posted on Sept. 18 on the website Patriot Journal, which describes itself as a news site for “America-loving patriots.” Check Your Fact also found two instances of the quote on Twitter. In both of those instances, the quote was shared by unverified accounts without sourcing.

Check Your Fact has previously addressed quotes attributed to Biden without evidence. One such instance earlier this month falsely claimed Biden said that if he were president, “not one person would have died from COVID-19.”

Varun Hukeri

General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
Follow Varun on Twitter

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