Joe Biden’s impatience at having to honor fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base was evident for all to see by his checking his watch several times during the solemn service.
PJ Media’s Matt Margolis wrote about the president’s insensitivity and even included some video.
It's true. Joe Biden checked his watch during the dignified transfer of the servicemembers killing in Afghanistan at the airport. You can see him jerk his left hand to pull the watch out from under his sleeve, then look down at it. pic.twitter.com/M3QVzJbTIm
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) August 29, 2021
Based on the evidence, it seems clear that Biden attempted a surreptitious glance at his watch but was caught. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could be so disrespectful during the ceremony for thirteen people who died because of the disaster he created in Afghanistan.
But USA Today only saw what they wanted to see. In a “fact check,” the outlet labeled the charge that Biden was looking at his watch “partly false.”
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They admit that the president glanced at his watch, but “only after the ceremony was over.”
Footage leading up to the moment, which was widely shared on social media, shows Biden with his hand over his heart for about 30 seconds as vans carry the service members’ remains off the tarmac. After the vans left, Biden closed his eyes briefly before dropping his arms and glancing down at his watch.
At that point, everyone else in the video also stands at ease, indicating that the ceremony was over. About 35 seconds later, Biden and the first lady walk off the tarmac toward a black SUV.
But how about those videos that exploded all over Twitter showing Biden checking his watch during the ceremony?
“[Biden] did appear to check his watch during his visit to Dover Air Force Base. But he did so after the dignified transfer ceremony was over,” Funke wrote. “Footage leading up to the moment shows Biden with his hand over his heart for about 30 seconds as vans carry the service members’ remains off the tarmac. After the vans had left, Biden closes his eyes briefly before dropping his arms and glancing down at his watch.”
The fact check ruled the claim “partly false,” writing that the image of Biden that circulated on social media was real but that it does not “accurately summarize” what occurred.
The publication issued a correction on Friday — sort of.
This story was updated Sept. 2 to note that Biden checked his watch multiple times at the dignified transfer event, including during the ceremony itself. The rating on this claim has been changed from partly false to missing context.
The claim is 100 percent, absolutely true. The only context that’s missing is the bias of USA Today in bending over backward to see that Joe Biden avoids criticism.
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