Tag: gaffes

[2008] Yes, Joe Biden’s Helicopter Really Was “Forced Down” in Afghanistan

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

One of the narratives the blogs are talking about this week is that Joe Biden is—gasp!—”gaffe-prone.” Nevermind the fact that this has been the story about Biden for 30 years: now journalists are even finding gaffes where none exist. In a post on The Stump exploring Biden’s unfortunate attack on his own campaign’s ad, Michael Crowley claims that this Joe Biden anecdote is a “gaffe”:

Yes, Joe Biden’s Helicopter Really Was “Forced Down” in Afghanistan

Related:

The Story Behind Biden’s Emergency Helicopter Landing in Afghanistan

U.S. senators in emergency Afghan landing

The gaffe-o-meter

Biden made the claim, again, last Friday. So-called fact-checkers are saying that the first time he made the claim was in 2015. The first time was actually during his 2008 presidential campaign. The argument, I guess, is between whether his helicopter was forced down or made an emergency landing?! Sure, he makes quite a few gaffes, but this one seems like a nothingburger compared to his Fallujah one (or other numerous gaffes).

A Bottomless Pinocchio for Biden — and other recent gaffes

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments

President Biden is a self-described “gaffe machine.” That’s no excuse, of course, for a president making false or misleading statements. Readers have asked for fact checks of a variety of recent Biden statements, but none of them seemed big enough for a stand-alone fact check. So here’s a roundup of some of the president’s recent errors of fact, made as he has barnstormed the country boosting Democrats and raising contributions in advance of the midterm elections. We generally do not award Pinocchios for roundups like this — but for reasons that will become clear, we need to make an exception for the first one.

A Bottomless Pinocchio for Biden — and other recent gaffes (archived)