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Joe Biden Gets Major Fact Check After Public Outcry

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Someone on President Joe Biden’s communications team must have believed, for whatever reason, that it was time for the president to tweet his support for one of the Democratic Party’s traditional allies — organized labor.

Perhaps they thought it would be a way to reverse — or at least to slow down — his recent weakness in some of the polls.

Unfortunately, while that might been a wise tactic in the pre-Elon Musk days of Twitter, apparently they forgot that there’s a new sheriff in town.

The tweet was simple and direct, if unspecific: “I make no apologies for being the most pro-union president in American history.”

So far as The Western Journal is aware, no one had asked the president for such an apology in the first place. Biden himself, however, might be asking for an apology now — from whomever thought this tweet was a good idea.

Because response on Twitter was also simple and direct — and perhaps somewhat more factual.

Readers who contribute to the social media platform’s “Community Notes” function added a fact check to Biden’s claim in the form of short statement about Biden’s support for unions, as well as a link to a Reuters article about it.

Should Joe Biden retract this statement?

“On December 22, 2022, President Biden signed a bill to block the railroad union from striking,” the note said.

The Reuters piece, titled “Biden signs bill to block U.S. railroad strike,” explained that the president had in early December signed bi-partisan legislation — the bill passed the Senate with an 80-15 vote — over the objections of four labor unions.

Eight other unions had ratified the deal, Reuters said.

“Rail carriers make record profits. Rail workers get zero paid sick days. Is this OK? Paid sick leave is a basic human right. This system is failing,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien wrote on Twitter after the Senate vote.

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That the responsibility for the final disposition of the bill fell directly at the feet of the president was never in doubt.

Biden “even deployed two Cabinet members — Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — on Thursday to sell Senate Democrats on voting to prevent a work stoppage and impose the rail deal minus the sick leave workers wanted,” Politico reported at the time.

Twitter users had a lot to say about the attempted presidential boast.

Some users appeared to agree with Biden’s claim — but still weren’t impressed.

The contract imposed by the Senate “includes a 24% compounded pay increase over five years and five annual $1,000 lump-sum payments,” Reuters reported.

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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
Birthplace
Foxborough, Massachusetts
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Beta Gamma Sigma
Education
B.A., English, UNCG; M.A., English, UNCG; MBA, UNCG
Location
North Carolina
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Faith, Business, Leadership and Management, Military, Politics




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