Fact Check

Did Pence Say Biden 'Commits' More Falsehoods Than Any Other President?

Pence was vice president under Donald Trump. 

Published June 23, 2022

 (Matt Johnson/Wikimedia Commons)
Image courtesy of Matt Johnson/Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
When asked if he had ever seen a president who "commits so many falsehoods" as Joe Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence said, “Never in my lifetime.”

Fact Check

Former Vice President Mike Pence took aim at U.S. President Joe Biden in an interview with Fox Business when he affirmed that he had “never in [his] lifetime” seen a president commit so many falsehoods as Biden. Pence worked under former U.S. President Donald Trump.

In late June 2022, Pence was being interviewed by Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow. Kudlow enumerated a range of criticisms of Biden, including a propensity to say "stuff that just ain't true." Pence agreed with Kudlow's assessment.

Here is a transcript of the relevant portion of their exchange:

Kudlow: Have you ever seen a president who refuses to accept blame, and I want to add to that, commits so many falsehoods? I'm being very polite here, calling it falsehoods -- falsehoods, you know, on any given day. He's out there saying stuff that just ain't true. Have you ever seen anything like that?

Pence: Never in my lifetime. I said today that there has never been a time in my life where a president was more disconnected from the American people than we see today.

The exchange took place at the 9:14 mark in the video below:

For perspective, Washington Post fact-checkers determined that Biden made a total of 78 false or misleading statements during his first 100 days in office. Using the same methodology, they found that his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump, made 511 false or misleading statements during his first 100 days.

Sources

Cillizza, Chris. “Analysis: Mike Pence Says No President in His Lifetime Has Lied as Often as Joe Biden. Um…” CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/21/politics/mike-pence-donald-trump-joe-biden-falsehoods/index.html. Accessed 22 June 2022.

Dale, Daniel. “Fact Check: A Look at Biden’s First Year in False Claims.” CNN, 20 Jan. 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/20/politics/fact-check-biden-false-claims-first-year-2021/index.html. Accessed 23 June 2022.

Kessler, Glenn, et al. “Analysis | The False and Misleading Claims President Biden Made during His First 100 Days in Office.” Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/biden-fact-checker-100-days/. Accessed 23 June 2022.

"Mike Pence: Biden Is Wrong about This." Fox Business, 20 June 2022. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8MI1MQwJGI. Accessed 22 June 2022.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.