Quick Take
Social media posts shared by Eric Trump and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro take a quote by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden out of context to claim he “admits to voter fraud.” Biden was actually describing his efforts to prevent voter fraud and suppression.
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In the weeks leading up to Election Day, President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that voter fraud is rampant, as we’ve reported.
Meanwhile, viral social media posts shared in late October by his son Eric Trump and others take a video clip of former Vice President Joe Biden out of context to falsely suggest Biden admitted to creating voter fraud.
A post from Fox News host Jeanine Pirro shares a tweet from White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany that claims, “BIDEN ADMITS TO VOTER FRAUD!”
Biden actually said he was working to prevent voter fraud.
The posts isolate a clip from Biden’s Oct. 24 appearance on the progressive podcast “Pod Save America.” In the video clip shared in the viral posts, Biden says, “Secondly, we’re in a situation where we have put together, and you guys did it for our administration — President Obama’s administration before this — we have put together I think the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics.”
The comment was a short piece of Biden’s much longer response to a question from Dan Pfeiffer, one of the podcast hosts and a former communications advisor to former President Barack Obama.
Pfeiffer asked what Biden would say to people who haven’t voted yet or don’t have a plan to vote. In response, Biden gave a three-part answer. He first encouraged people to create a plan by going to IWillVote.com, a site hosted by the Democratic National Committee.
The second part of Biden’s answer began with the “voter fraud organization” clip. He then described ways people can find help if they have trouble voting.
Biden, Oct. 24: But one of the things that I think is most important is those who haven’t voted yet, first of all go to IWILLVOTE.com to make a plan exactly how you’re going to vote, where you’re going to vote, when you’re going to vote. Because it can get complicated, because the Republicans are doing everything they can to make it harder for people to vote — particularly people of color — to vote. So go to IWILLVOTE.com.
Secondly, we’re in a situation where we have put together, and you guys did it for our administration — President Obama’s administration before this — we have put together I think the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics. What the president is trying to do is discourage people from voting by implying that their vote won’t be counted, it can’t be counted, we’re going to challenge it and all these things. If enough people vote, it’s going to overwhelm the system.
You see what’s happening now, you guys know it as well as I do, you see the long, long lines and early voting. You see the millions of people who have already cast a ballot. And so, don’t be intimidated. If in fact you have any, any problem go to — and I don’t have the number but it’s 833-DEM-VOTE… Call that number. We have over a thousand lawyers, over a thousand of them, they’ll answer the phone, if you think there’s any challenge to your voting. Go to 833-DEM-VOTE, dial those letters on your phone. That will get you the assistance that we have already put in place.
When Biden used the phrase “voter fraud organization,” he was referring to the systems put into place to help people who have trouble voting. He wasn’t admitting to voter fraud.
Fox News wrote about the video clip on Oct. 25, referring to it as a “misspoken claim” and reporting, “Biden may have been referring to his campaign’s massive ‘election protection program,’ which includes former Attorney General Eric Holder and hundreds of other lawyers in preparation for a legal battle in the event of a contested election.”
We reached out to Biden’s campaign for comment on the social media posts, and received this statement from press secretary TJ Ducklo: “The President of the United States has already demonstrated he’s willing to lie and manipulate our country’s democratic process to help himself politically, which is why we have assembled the most robust and sophisticated team in presidential campaign history to confront voter suppression and fight voter fraud however it may present itself. The American people will decide the outcome of this election on November 3rd through a free and fair election, as they always have.”
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.
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Sources
“Excerpted and edited transcript, former Vice President Joe Biden interview on Pod Save America, Oct. 24, 2020. (For Snopes.com).” Snopes.com. Accessed 28 Oct 2020.
Fordham, Evie. “Biden says in video he has created ‘voter fraud organization.'” Fox News. 25 Oct 2020.
Robertson, Lori, et. al. “In Pennsylvania Rallies, Trump Distorts Voting Issues.” Factcheck.org. 27 Oct 2020.
“We got Joe!” Pod Save America. 24 Oct 2020.