On Tuesday, while discussing the recent bridge collapse in Baltimore, President Joe Biden claimed to have commuted across the city’s Francis Scott Key bridge “many, many times … either on a train or by car.” However, the bridge doesn’t have any rail lines.
Biden’s comments quickly created a firestorm of fact-checkers on social media who didn’t hesitate to call Biden out on the mistake.
The bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River on Tuesday after one of its support columns was hit by a massive cargo ship that is believed to have lost power.
“At about 1:30 [a.m.], a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which I’ve been over many, many times commuting from the state of Delaware either on a train or by car,” Biden said while speaking about the tragedy.
Biden went on to say that he has been to the area “many times” while sharing his condolences for those who were lost and have now been considered dead.
After his speech, social media blew up, with several people calling Biden a liar, saying he was “inserting himself” into yet another tragedy.
“So many lies! He lies just to lie,” one user said on X. “There is no value to him inserting himself into this situation.”
Conservative podcast host Chad Prather said that this was “Just another example of his mental derailment.”
Radio talk show host Alan Sanders also showed confusion over Biden’s comments, asking, “What train tracks is he referencing? Because there are none on the Francis Scott Key bridge.”
White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson shared with the Post that Biden was only referring to having driven over the bridge.
“The President was clearly describing driving over the bridge while commuting between Delaware and D.C. during his 36-year Senate career,” Patterson said in a statement.