Tipsheet

Biden's Speech in Scranton Was Full of Some Pretty Bad Moments

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 17, 2024 3:00 PM

Everyone knows that President Joe Biden is from Scranton. Pennsylvania is also a key battleground state for 2024, one of the ones that could decide the election. It seems like it should have been a previous obvious choice for a place where he would make a campaign speech, and where he would have very few issues. That wasn't quite the case, as he had his typical moments of confusion. But it wasn't just his mental fitness, or lack thereof, that was on his display. Even when he was more with it, he still, yet again, repeated debunked narratives about former and potentially future President Donald Trump and told lies about his own record.

Upon landing, Biden looked confused, stopping on the steps of Air Force One to pause and look around, which is never a good sign. He also started his speech, in part, by saying, "I think I should go home now, except I’m already home," using a rather bizarre line. Does he mean go back to Washington? Or to Delaware? If he was acknowledging that Scranton is his hometown, there were plenty of other ways to do that. 

The president's inability to read a teleprompter, and quite possibly his penchant for mixing up leaders, was also on display. He seemed very confused as to who the current mayor was. 

The official White House transcript of the event also points to his struggles. "You know, thanks to the mayor, Paige C- — C- — excuse me, I’m going to — I was going to talk about the old mayor — Paige Cognetti, for that welcome. And she’s been incredible. She’s been with me all along the way," it reads. 

The current mayor, Paige Cognetti, has been in office since January 2020.

Recommended

The Biggest Lie of All? We Need to Talk About the Hunter Biden Pardon Guy Benson
JD Vance Had the Perfect Response to Bolton's Criticism of Kash Patel Leah Barkoukis

Early on, Biden went for making the speech a contrast between him and Trump. He looked to draw a distinction between "Scranton values or Mar-a-Lago values," as "competing visions for our economy."

It was a bold distinction for Biden to go with, though, considering how many voters are experiencing buyer's remorse about the Trump presidency, including when it comes to the economy. 

Not only did Trump have an edge on the economy in the polls when he was president and in the polls now for the rematch with Biden, but Biden's not faring too well on this issue that remains top of mind for many voters. According to RealClearPolling, 39.4 percent approve of his handling of the economy, while 58.2 percent disapprove. 

Wednesday's VIP piece covered how Biden reelection campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu tried to promote the speech over at CNN. He previewed how Biden would look to draw a contrast on the economy between himself and Trump. 

John Berman confronted Landrieu with the recent poll from The New York Times/Siena College shows 52 percent say the economy is "poor," as well as the CBS News poll, where 61 percent say the economy is "fairly bad" or "very bad," and the poll from the Wall Street Journal from earlier this month, where 63 percent of voters say the economy is "bad."

Landrieu tried to offer a hopeful response, which tellingly referenced a point that has been fact-checked several times, including by Mia. "Under Joe Biden, [Americans] gained 15 million jobs," he claimed. In reality, these aren't new jobs created, but people returning to the workforce following the COVID lockdowns. 

However, as Berman pointed out, Landrieu didn't reference inflation, an issue where Biden fares even more poorly on. He's at just a 34.8 percent approval rating overall, while 63.3 percent disapprove of his handling of inflation. 

"Well, there's no question about it. But listen, inflation has been decreased by two-thirds. And even though prices are still high, this is why the president is always fighting to reduce costs," Landrieu claimed. 

You bet they're "still high." As Spencer covered last week, "Rising 0.4 percent month-over-month, headline CPI inflation has surged 3.5 percent in the last 12 months as the White House made 'Bidenomics' a central message for the administration."

There's also no escaping how a GoBankingRates piece from last November highlighted that of the 11 presidents from Lyndon B. Johnson to Biden, Trump had the second lowest inflation rate and Biden had the third highest.

During his speech, Biden told other lies about the economy, including how "we reduced the deficit," something even CNN has fact-checked him for, in addition to Mia doing so. 

Then there's the false promises of how Biden won't raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000 a year. Speaking of inflation once more, as Katie has covered multiple times, thanks to rising prices, Biden has broken his promise. The IRS also has the power to go after small business owners earning less than that $400,000.

Although it's telling that "Bidenomics" wasn't even mentioned during the speech that lasted about half an hour, it's still worth reminding that whether the president is willing to embrace it or not, and he's insisted recently on the campaign trail he is willing to do, it's not very popular. 

Biden couldn't even help himself when it comes to bringing up falsehoods not to do with the speech at hand, such as the "suckers and losers" lie that was debunked years ago. 

When it comes to another one of the lies about Trump during his administration that just won't die, Trump's opponents claim that he referred to those buried at Normandy as "suckers" and "losers" and also said he didn't want to see them during a 2018 trip, though it was debunked by Snopes.

"I have to say, there are a lot of things that Donald Trump has said and done that I find extremely offensive," Biden said, as he is one to double down on debunked lies. The president even went for several applause lines as he told the crowd that those buried in Normandy were "heroes."

"But as I’ve said, Donald Trump looks at the world differently than you and me," Biden then said, adding "he wakes up in the morning in Mar-a-Lago thinking about himself, how he can help his billionaire friends gain power and control and force their extreme agenda on the rest of us."

If that wasn't enough, he went for still more words taken out of context, such as how "I'll be a dictator on day one," comments clearly made in jest, with Trump confirming as much. Biden also claimed Trump "promises, quote, 'a bloodbath,' if he loses, leaving out the key context of how Trump was clearly referring to the economic definition of the word.

So proud is the Biden reelection campaign to go with a falsehood that the Biden HQ even shared the moment from Biden's speech to their X page. Then again, this is an account that frequently lies about Trump's positions by repeatedly taking his words out of context on issues such as immigration, abortion, and the "bloodbath" narrative just mentioned above, all while claiming to be about "Just the facts, Jack."

Buckle up, as Biden and his reelection campaign look to only be doubling down on such falsehoods and desperate talking points as we get closer to Election Day.