Joe Biden has developed a reputation for being an unapologetic liar, consistently spreading falsehoods about his political achievements and his personal history. He frequently exaggerates or fabricates stories to enhance his image, manipulate public opinion, or gain sympathy. Some of the most notable lies include falsely claiming academic achievements, appropriating black culture, exaggerating personal tragedies such as a small house fire, and falsely claiming he was arrested in South Africa. He has also misrepresented his involvement in civil rights activities.
One of his more egregious lies is about the circumstances of the car accident that took the lives of his first wife and daughter, as he falsely claimed they were killed by a drunk driver. Additionally, he has made reprehensible claims suggesting that his son Beau Biden died in combat or that his son’s death was comparable to death in combat. These lies are not only deeply misleading but also demonstrate a lack of respect for the truth and the sacrifices made by military personnel.
And he did it again on Memorial Day. During the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, he honored the courageous men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect democracy and ensure our safety while also invoking his late son.
Beau did serve in the military but died from brain cancer in 2015 while Joe Biden was serving as vice president. Biden has defended his tendency to equate his son Beau’s death from brain cancer to death in combat by suggesting a connection between his son’s illness and exposure to toxic burn pits during his service in Iraq. However, even left-wing fact-checking groups have criticized Biden for this and pointed out no conclusive evidence connecting toxic burn pits and brain cancer.
“Tomorrow marks eight years since we lost our son Beau,” Biden said. “Our losses are not the same. He didn’t perish in the battlefield. It was cancer that stole him from us a year after being deployed as a major in the United States Army National Guard in Iraq. As it is for so many of you, the pain of his loss is with us every day but particularly sharp on Memorial Day.”
At least he didn’t claim that Beau died in battle, but sadly, he has done so.
In October, during a ceremony declaring the Camp Hale Continental Divide a national monument, Biden literally claimed Beau died in Iraq. “Just imagine — I mean it sincerely — I say this as a father of a man who won the Bronze Star, the conspicuous service medal, and lost his life in Iraq,” he said. “Imagine the courage, the daring, and the genuine sacrifice — genuine sacrifice they all made.”
Biden has also used his son’s death in a misguided effort to empathize with the grieving families of the fallen U.S. servicemembers who died during his botched withdrawal from Iraq. According to those who attended, Biden’s behavior was inappropriate, and he “kept checking his watch and bringing up Beau.”
He also invoked Beau Biden during a debate with Donald Trump, citing the debunked September 2020 story from The Atlantic claiming that President Trump didn’t want to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 because the troops there who died in battle were “losers” and “suckers.” Biden demanded Trump apologize for the remarks (which he never actually made) and invoked his late son Beau, insisting he “wasn’t a sucker.”
Biden has been criticized for years about his inappropriate invoking of his son, yet he seems unable to stop—not even on Memorial Day, and that’s just wrong.