Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, June 23, 2024 Contract With Our Readers
The fact-checkers at Snopes may have just taken away one of Joe Biden's go-to debate narratives.
Will Donald Trump at Thursday's debate point out that official fact-checkers have debunked the neo-Nazis as ‘very fine people' narrative Joe Biden has been pushing for years?And it only took 7 years for Snopes to research a fact that many in independent media had pointed out from the get-go … that President Donald Trump never referred to neo-Nazis and white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017 as “very fine people.”
Biden had made the false claim central to his 2020 campaign. He used it to launch his campaign in April 2019, saying he had been inspired to run against Trump because the latter called neo-Nazis “very fine people.”
In reality, Trump had condemned the neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville, and had used the phrase “very fine people” to describe non-violent protesters on both sides of the issue of the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee:
In a June 20 post which includes a transcript of Trump's full remarks, Snopes rated as “false” the claim: “On Aug. 15, 2017, then-President Donald Trump called neo-Nazis and white supremacists who attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, ‘very fine people.' ”
Snopes noted:
We looked into these claims, and found that while Trump did say there were “very fine people on both sides,” meaning both the protesters and the counterprotesters, he also condemned neo-Nazis and white nationalists outright and said he was specifically referring to those who were there only to participate in the statue protest.
In sum, while Trump did say that there were “very fine people on both sides,” he also specifically noted that he was not talking about neo-Nazis and white supremacists and said they should be “condemned totally.” Therefore, we have rated this claim “False.”
The neo-Nazis as “very fine people” narrative has been used by Biden time and again. Since professional fact-checkers have now debunked it, the question is, will Biden continue to use it?
If Biden's handlers decide to omit it from Old Joe's cue cards, then Trump should be the one to bring it up at Thursday's debate, some observers are saying.
Why don't they ever play the full video?
How can this lie still be perpetuated to this day?
3 years later and people still believe the “very fine people” lie. pic.twitter.com/TNaNuVJ3qz
— 🌴 Josh Lekach 🌴 (@JoshLekach) September 30, 2020
Memo to Biden: Snopes now says Trump never said in Charlottesville what you repeatedly claim added by Editor Two on June 23, 2024
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