Fact Check: Biden Claims He Did Not Call Military Members ‘Stupid Bastards’

CLAIM: Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed during the first presidential debate that he did not call members of the military “stupid bastards.”

VERDICT: FALSE. There is video of Biden in 2016 visiting troops in the United Arab Emirates, calling service members “stupid bastards.”

There is video of Biden in 2016 visiting troops in the United Arab Emirates, calling service members “stupid bastards.” He also called them a “dull bunch.”

Biden just claimed that he never called soldiers "stupid bastards"

Here is the video showing Biden calling soldiers just that: https://t.co/GTIK2c07Es

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 30, 2020

As Breitbart News has previously reported, Biden said to a group of service members: “Notwithstanding what you may hear about me, I have incredibly good judgment. One, I married Jill and two, I appointed Johnson to the academy.”

“I just want you to know that, so clap for that you stupid bastards,” he said, before adding, “Man, you all are a dull bunch. It must be slow here, man.”

Biden repeated during the debate, however, an anonymously-sourced story in the Atlantic that claimed that Trump called fallen service members “suckers” and “losers.”

Former and current officials who were with Trump at the time have denied hearing him ever saying that, including a top aide to former White House Chief of Staff Marine Gen. (Ret.) John Kelly.

 

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