Biden's fictional tales fact-checked by WaPo, NY Times but outlets stop short of declaring them 'lies'

President Biden has raised eyebrows in recent weeks for telling an embellished story to the survivors of the Maui wildfires and while addressing Hurricane Idalia in an attempt to relate to people's struggles. But news outlets have found creative ways to refer to the president's questionable stories and even outright fabrications. 

This story, as he's told it, entails what he suggests was a near-catastrophic fire that occurred at his home in 2004 due to a lightning strike, repeatedly claiming he "almost lost" his wife, cat and ’67 Corvette in the event.

Reports at the time, however, reveal that the fire was contained to only the kitchen. 

This caught the attention of Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler, who wrote a story Thursday with the headline, "Biden loves to retell certain stories. Some aren’t credible."