Fact Checking Biden's 2023 State of the Union Address
AllSides Summary
President Joe Biden made several statements during Tuesday night's State of the Union that sparked clarifications from fact checkers across the political spectrum.
Job Growth: Biden said he created "more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years." The raw number is accurate. However, Biden left out the fact that job growth was sparked by post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery that started under former President Donald Trump and followed large-scale COVID-19 pandemic job losses.
Deficit: Biden said his administration "has cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion – the largest deficit reduction in American history." However, expiring emergency pandemic spending accounted for much of that after the debt jumped to record highs amid trillions in pandemic stimulus and spending packages.
Inflation: Biden said that "Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months, while take-home pay has gone up." This is true when looking at year-over-year inflation growth rates, but not month-over-month.
Medicare and Social Security: Biden said "some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset." The proposal he referred to does not mention this, but does propose making the programs subject to renewal every five years and requiring Congress to pass them again.
How the Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum fact-checked Biden's address. Some center- and right-rated sources framed Biden's Medicare claim as false. Some left-rated sources moved to add context to the claim instead of questioning it.
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From the Right
Six Claims From Biden’s 2023 State Of The Union Address
President Joe Biden delivered his 2023 State of the Union before a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.
Here are six checks on his claims made throughout the speech.
Claim 1: “As I stand here tonight, we have created a record 12 million new jobs – more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years.”
Since Biden has taken office, the U.S. economy has added around 12 million jobs, according to the St. Louis Fed. This included 517,000 jobs in January 2023, which was more than the...
From the Left
Fact-checking President Biden’s State of the Union speech
President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Here is a fact check of some of the claims from Biden and the Republican response by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
Biden claimed his administration cut the federal deficit by “more than $1.7 trillion.”
In the last two years, my administration has cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion – the largest deficit reduction in American history.
Facts First: Biden’s boast leaves out important context. It is true that the federal deficit fell by $1.7 trillion under Biden...
From the Center
FactChecking the State of the Union
President Joe Biden put his spin on some facts, particularly about the economy, in his Feb. 7 State of the Union address:
Biden boasted that the 12.1 million jobs created in his first two years were more than the number of jobs added in four years under any president. But that job growth was fueled by a post-pandemic recovery that started under his predecessor, and his comparison doesn’t account for population growth.
The president said “take-home pay has gone up,” which is true, but the rise is not as fast as...
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