A vivid war story that former Vice President Joe Biden has been sharing with supporters on the campaign trail is actually a mash-up of three different events that the former veep has jumbled into one, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
Biden has told supporters that while he was vice president, a four-star general invited him to travel to a province in Afghanistan called Kunar to recognize the bravery of a Navy captain. According to Biden’s version of the story, the captain had rappelled himself down a 60-foot cliff to recover the body of another American soldier. Biden was going to pin a Silver Star on the soldier, but the Navy captain rejected him.
“He said, ‘Sir, I don’t want the damn thing!’” Biden said at a recent campaign event in New Hampshire. “’Do not pin it on me, Sir! Please, Sir. Do not do that! He died. He died!’ That is God’s truth, my word as a Biden.”
According to the Post’s analysis and reporting, nearly every detail — the time period, the location, the act itself, the type of medal, the branch of the military and the soldier’s rank — are all inaccurate.
Biden was actually a senator when he visited Afghanistan in 2008, not vice president. The man who performed the risky recovery was a young Army specialist, not a high-ranking Navy captain. The soldier was given the Medal of Honor by President Obama six years later, not the Silver Star and not by Biden.
As the Post notes, Biden did pin a medal on a soldier, Army Staff Sgt. Chad Workman, who didn’t think he deserved it while he was in Afghanistan.
In an interview with the Post and Courier in South Carolina on Thursday, Biden said the “essence” of the story he told is true and said he didn’t “understand what they’re talking about,” regarding the Washington Post’s piece.
“The central point is it was absolutely accurate what I said,” Biden told the Post and Courier. “He refused the medal. I put it on him, he said, ‘Don’t do that to me, sir. He died. He died.’”
“That’s the beginning, middle and end. The rest of you guys can take it and do what you want with it,” he added.
Not truth, but authentic Biden.
Remind me again why everyone thinks Biden is the best choice to beat Trump?
Joe’s model for this election is Jerry Brown. Brown went from Governor Moonbeam to cantankerous loser of the 1992 primary who needed to be dragged by his shirt collar to endorse Bill Clinton to statesman who wisely guided CA from crisis to fiscal stability and prosperity. He also won 2 elections going away.
Jerry Brown didn’t do stupid stuff like this in his 2 most recent campaigns for Governor. He was focused, all business and demonstrated mature leadership. Joe has to cut this garbage out. The tendency to conflate details, events and time frames into an almost invented history leads to questions about his mental fitness given his age. He can’t permit people to go there. Stop riffing. Stop claiming broad artistic license. Keep it real. Stay focused.
Because he is a Bullshitter… Americans wont admit it but they like those
What bothers me much more than his failed memory - why did this happen? Why didn’t his staff already know about this and get him to stop telling the story?