Fact Check: Joe Biden’s False Quote, ‘The More Chaos, Violence, the Better for Trump’s Re-election’

CLAIM: One of President Donald Trump’s advisers said “the more chaos, violence, the better it is for Trump’s re-election.”

VERDICT: FALSE. Kellyanne Conway, did not say that — and was commenting on Democrats’ failure to stop the violence.

Biden claimed in a speech on violence Monday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that Trump saw political violence as a political boon. He “quoted” a Trump adviser who allegedly said, “the more chaos, violence, the better it is for Trump’s re-election.”

Biden and his campaign have been making similar false claims for days, but Biden’s misquote in Pittsburgh was by far the most egregious distortion of what the adviser — Kellyanne Conway — said last week.

As Breitbart noted in a fact check:

Conway appeared on Fox and Friends and was asked to respond to the claim by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg that the riots were happening “on Donald Trump’s watch.”

Conway replied that the riots were happening in cities and states run by Democrats, most of whom had refused help from Trump. She then quoted a “restaurateur” in Madison, Wisconsin, who evidently opposed Trump and who asked rioters whether they were trying to get Trump re-elected.

Windows of businesses and residential buildings being smashed on University Avenue — which were not preemptively boarded up. This Papa John’s employee asks protesters, “Do you want Trump to be elected?” pic.twitter.com/IbSubGfGs6

— Dylan Brogan (@telldylan) August 26, 2020

Conway then added: “He knows, full stop, and I guess Mayor Pete knows, full stop, that the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who is best on public safety and law and order.”

That is not a “hope” for violence. It is a simple observation that Democrats’ inability to stop the violence in the cities and states that they govern makes the case stronger for Trump’s re-election. Others have made similar observations.

CNN’s Don Lemon warned earlier this week that Biden had to oppose the riots vocally, because “it’s showing up in the polling. It’s showing up in focus groups. It is the only thing – it is the only thing right now that is sticking.”

Likewise, the New York Times reported Wednesday that “Chaos in Kenosha Is Already Swaying Some Voters in Wisconsin.”

Conway noted that Trump had offered help to stop the violence with federal law enforcement, and had often been refused by Democrats putting their “pride and their politics ahead of public safety.”

On Saturday, former San Francisco mayor and California State Assembly speaker Willie Brown warned that Democrats’ support for violent demonstrations risked reelecting President Donald Trump. That is all Conway was saying.

Biden not only mischaracterized her meaning, but falsified her words.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.