Fact Check: Did President Joe Biden Really Say That?

Yes, he did.

By
31

Viral social media posts claim that President Joe Biden called a journalist “a stupid son of a bitch.”

The claims are accurate: At a White House event Monday, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Biden if he thought “inflation is a political liability in the midterms.” Biden was caught on camera replying, “It’s a great asset, more inflation. What a stupid son of a bitch.”

Keep reading with a free account
Create a free Dispatch account to keep reading Get Started ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN IN
31
By
Comments (31)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Kurt Von Fuchs

    Not a fan of the current president. Actually we haven't had a decent presents president since George HW. The real story here however, is that Biden apologized. Let's try that again Biden apologized what a novel and human thing to do

    Collapse
  2. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    He told it like it is… just kidding

    Collapse
  3. Natty Bumpo

    Great! Another President whose behavior we can admire.

    Collapse
  4. John Lamerton

    He did not apologize. Doocy said that to clear the air he (Biden) said "it's not personal, pal." That's not an apology. I'm only bringing this up because you're fact checking here and that Biden isn't contrite because he really didn't get caught on a "hot mic" This was just Biden being the Biden we all know him to be.

    Collapse
  5. Avatar photo
    Dusty

    I’m not going to pretend I’m deeply offended by this. I quite honestly couldn’t give a damn about it. Doocy seems to be following the Acosta playbook, so it’s probably well-deserved in the context of a journalist just being a partisan hack.

    But, just from a punditry perspective - not a good look for a guy who ran on restoring norms and decency. He looks flustered and frustrated.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      Pat Riot

      He apologized and called the reporter.

      The sad part here is that when Democrats make mistakes like this, they are held accountable. When Republicans do it, they raise more money. That's the difference in value system in our country now.

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        Dusty

        Him saying it made headlines on pretty much every single news site. I didn’t hear about him apologizing until you said it, and it was a slow day for me so I was making my rounds on all the sites (Politico, The Hill, etc).

        So you can use it to reenforce your virtuous Democrats, evil Republican plot line all you want. That’s fine and rather predictable. But to say this is a “win” is just detached from reality. At best it’s irrelevant.

        Collapse
        1. Avatar photo
          Pat Riot

          It's my opinion of what will happen. It's certainly not "detached from reality". Like I said, even a lot of *Republicans* aren't even pouncing on this one because it reminds everyone of the moral nihilism of the GOP.

          Collapse
  6. Avatar photo
    Pat Riot

    Net-net this is a positive for Biden.

    First, he showed some emotion when it came to inflation--he's as pissed about inflation as many Americans are, etc. etc.

    Second, he got to demonstrate how absolutely opposite he is to the previous guy, and ironically this whole episode represents a return to normalcy because he apologized and called the (obviously hostile) member of the press to say so.

    Third, he created another device to show just how absurdly shameless Republicans can be as so many of them are feigning outrage over this to score political points even though it's obvious that there's nothing in their value system that finds anything wrong with this (e.g. for Democrats it was a bug and for Republicans it's a feature).

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      Gene Godbold

      I don't normally agree with Pat, but I think he's right about this one. I didn't vote for Trump or Biden, but (FWIW), I'd much rather spend an afternoon with Biden than Trump. And, yeah, I know that when he lies, he always lies in the direction of making himself look good. He's a politician. "Stupid SOB" is an honest reaction.

      Collapse
    2. Avatar photo
      Dusty

      That’s an impressive spin.

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        Pat Riot

        No, Republicans saying, "it's the same as Trump" is partisan spin.

        Collapse
    3. Avatar photo
      PGC

      Not so convincing attempt to make a silk purse from a sow's ear. He didn't show emotion about inflation. He got cranky because he didn't like be questioned about it. He acted just like the last guy. I will grant that someone on his staff was able to get him to apologize, something the last guy would never have done, but he didn't do it out of any sense of remorse. It was the politically smart thing to do. Biden has always been a thin skinned jerk, just like the last guy. Although you want to believe Republicans are feigning outrage while the morally upright Democrats would never do such a thing, it is just possible that many Republicans truly are outraged about inflation and the president's willful ignorance about the impact it is having on all of us.

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        JohnF

        He wasn't really asked about inflation, he was asked if he thought it was a political liability for the midterms.
        If he says "Yes" then the headline that will be up on FOX in 30 minutes will read: "Biden says inflation likely to cause Dem defeat in November "
        If he says "No" then the headline will read: "Biden says he's not worried about inflation".
        If he calls the stupid SOB a "stupid SOB" then at least he knows what the headline will be.

        Collapse
        1. Avatar photo
          PGC

          Can’t fault your logic.

          Collapse
      2. Avatar photo
        Pat Riot

        "Biden has always been a thin skinned jerk"

        What actual evidence do you have of this? Every account I've ever read of Biden is that he's a *genuinely* nice person and the very *opposite* of every one of Trump's values on a personal level.

        I said *some* Republicans are trying to make a political meal out of this, but for some of them this is a bridge too far, which is saying something.

        And Biden demonstrated the *opposite* of ignorance of inflation by losing his temper when asked about whether it affected him or not.

        Collapse
        1. Avatar photo
          PGC

          Yes, he is a genuinely nice person. He continues to insist that the truck driver who was involved in the traffic accident that killed his first wife was a drunk driver. He was not, she hit him. He has never recanted or apologized despite repeated pleas from the family. He told an African American crowd that Republicans planned to “put y’all back in chains”. Charming.
          Also, he is a serial liar on par with, um, the last guy. Just ask ol’ Corn Pop, or his baseball teammates, or all of his old long haul trucking buddies, or Neil Kinnock. That list would take up pages. Finally, Biden exhibits overwhelming ignorance of indifference toward inflation when he says his 3-6 trillion dollar BBB will reduce inflation. You don’t have to be an economist to understand what in inflationary disaster that would be.

          Collapse
          1. Avatar photo
            Pat Riot

            That Republicans can only dredge up a nearly 50 year old charge that occurred when Biden lost **his wife and his son** tells me that Biden is a saint on Earth.



            Collapse
    4. Yisrael Gale

      Inflation is not a "feature" for anybody. All Americans, including Republicans, become poorer through inflation. Nobody who says they don't like inflation is "pretending".

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        Pat Riot

        I wasn't talking about inflation, I was talking about presidential nastiness. Yes, excess inflation is not a feature.

        Collapse
      2. cb76

        He meant Republicans are "pretending" to be outraged about Biden being uncouth in dealing with reporters. He's saying being an abusive jerk is a "feature" for Republicans, as evidenced by the kind of behavior they applauded when the last guy was in office.

        Collapse
  7. Ingenero.lux

    Made it into the official White House transcript. Oof.

    Collapse
  8. Avatar photo
    Frank Lee

    That's ok. It's only Doocy. He is from Fox News. Probably has relatives from Alabama.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      Richard Maxton

      example #321651302325 of why people don't understand each other via text only conversations.

      Are you being sarcastic? Or this is real (and very wrong) thought?

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        Mudskipper

        Frank Lee is J Boone. So it is sarcasm.

        Collapse
        1. GregS

          Ah, is it the same person? That explains a lot.

          Collapse
      2. Mid 20's All-Around Good Guy

        Pretty sure he caricaturizing a coastal liberal point of view. I laughed!

        Collapse
Worth Your Time

Operation Chaos 2.0

The Sweep: What We Can Learn From Candidate Questionnaires

Fact Check: Did Donald Trump and the January 6 Prison Choir Top the Billboard Hot 100? 

Cracking the Big Egg Conspiracy

Avatar photo

About Alec Dent

Alec Dent is the culture editor and a staff writer for The Dispatch. He is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC Chapel Hill, and previously oversaw The Dispatch's fact checking team.
More from Alec Dent