CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale mocked for timid critique of Biden's habit of 'inventing or embellishing stories'

Conservatives hit CNN for taking too long to finally call out President Biden for false claims after fact-checking his claims about his actions in the days after Sept. 11, 2001.

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar observed on "CNN News Central" Tuesday that Biden is "facing criticism for falsely claiming that he was in New York City at Ground Zero the day after 9/11," recounting that he had made a speech about this on Monday to an audience of military and first responders as he commemorated the attack’s 22nd anniversary.

She introduced CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale who noted Biden "went nine days after the attack, on September 20th, 2001, when he went when a bipartisan delegation of senators." 

He said that some may defend Biden’s tall tales, but argued, "It’s 9/11. It’s sensitive. He’s speaking to military and first responders, so I think the facts matter." He went on to observe that Biden "has a pattern, at this point, of either inventing or embellishing stories about his own past, his biography. He did it three times in one speech last month alone."

Even if they agreed with Daniel Dale's fact-check, many conservative commentators argued it was insufficient. (CNN)

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After citing six examples, ranging from claiming to have visited a synagogue after a shooting to being arrested during a civil rights protest, Dale concluded, "Whatever his intensions, whether it’s foggy memory about stuff that’s gone on decades ago or deliberate embellishment, this is an unfortunate pattern that keeps coming up again and again with Joe Biden."

Many conservative commentators suggested that this was too little, too late, for the CNN fact-checker.

"At this point?" The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller asked, referring to Dale’s wording. "@ddale8, have you listened to Joe Biden at **any point** circa 1983 up to now? You think this all just started ‘at this point’?"

In a following tweet, he wrote, "Even when he does his actual job he still manages clown shoes."

US President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Townhall.com columnist Derek Hunter slammed Dale for refusing to use the word "lie" when discussing Biden.

"Weird how @ddale8 just can't bring himself to use the word ‘lie.’ He also avoided mentioning how [often] Joe claimed his son ‘died in Iraq.’ Another lie, but a useful one Joe sickly uses when talking with Gold Star families. But @CNN's ‘fact checker’ won't touch it."

He continued the callout in a following post, "We need a word for knowingly saying something that isn't true, and doing so repeatedly. @ddale8, any suggestions?"

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Dale has used the term "liar" in the past, when discussing then-President Trump.

Former software engineer Thomas Jeans shared a clip of Dale condemning Trump as a "serial liar" in 2020 and contesting a series of claims.

"[N]otice the difference in language and enthusiasm when their phony ‘fact checker’ is talking about President Trump?" Jeans asked in a post. 

Commentator Erick Erickson suggested, "If Biden were a Republican, the press would be way more comfortable saying liar instead of trying to soften it up."

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Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..