So much for the cue cards, Joe: Press conference fact check finds Biden made false claims about the border, sending back most migrants, and that Trump's tax cuts mainly benefited the 'top 1%'

The interesting thing about the report below is that it is from the mainstream media. So Biden is gradually losing some of them, it appears. His protective shield is developing holes

President Joe Biden misstated the reality at the U.S.-Mexico border and offered a misleading account of who's getting the most benefits from the Donald Trump tax cuts in his first presidential press conference.

Biden took questions for nearly an hour Thursday, answering multiple queries from the Associated Press, PBS, The Washington Post, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Bloomberg and Univision.

He was grilled on a number of topics, including the situation at the border, the Senate filibuster, working with Republicans, his 2024 re-election plans and Afghanistan - but received no questions on the coronavirus pandemic or on relations with Russia amid rising tensions with the Kremlin or his stumbles as he climbed the Air Force One stairs.

DailyMail.com fact-checked Biden's claims and found many weren't entirely accurate.

ON MIGRANTS AT THE BORDER

BIDEN'S CLAIM: 'Nothing has changed' in the numbers of children coming to the United States since his predecessor, Donald Trump, was in office.

'As many people came - 28 per cent increase in children to the border in my administration; 31 per cent in the last year in 2019, before the pandemic - in the Trump administration,' Biden told reporters Thursday.

'It happens every single solitary year. There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March. It happens every year.'

THE FACTS: The president erred. Unaccompanied immigrant children have come to the border at a higher percentage than what he said.

According to statistics published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, authorities encountered 9,457 children without a parent in February, a 61 per cent increase from January, not 28 per cent. The numbers of unaccompanied children did rise 31 per cent between January 2019 and February 2019.

In response, the Homeland Security Department pointed to figures for all border crossings, including adults and families traveling together. There was a 28 per cent rise in all encounters with migrants between January and last month, compared with 31 per cent between the same months in 2019. But Biden specifically noted a rise 'in children.'

Biden correctly noted seasonal trends in migration and a tendency in many years for more border crossings before hot summer months. But while he tried to play down his inauguration as a reason many children and teenagers have decided to migrate to the U.S., people interviewed by The AP have expressed hope that the country would be more permissive to migrants under Biden than under Trump.

BIDEN'S CLAIM: His administration has been sending back the 'majority' of migrant families trying to cross into the US.

'We're sending back the vast majority of families that are coming. We're trying to work out now with Mexico their willingness to take those families back. That's what's happening. They're not getting across the border,' he said.

THE FACTS: Not true, at least not according to last month's figures, CNN reported.

The data shows only 41 per cent of immigrant families were turned away under Title 42, which allows the US Border Patrol to immediately expel any migrant to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in February.

It is true, however, that the majority of single adults, or 79 per cent, were sent back last month.

BIDEN'S CLAIM: That Donald Trump cut a $700 million bipartisan plan to address the root causes of why people are leaving their home countries. Biden said: 'What did Trump do? He eliminated that funding. He didn't use it. He didn't do it.'

THE FACTS: This is partially true, NBC News found. Trump did announce $700 million in aid cuts to Central American countries in 2019, but the State Department later restored the majority of that funding.

ON TRUMP'S TAX CUTS BENEFITS

BIDEN'S CLAIM: Republicans who contend his pandemic relief package is too expensive passed a tax cut favoring the top 1 per cent.

'Do you hear them complain when they passed (a) close to $2trillion Trump tax cut, with 83 per cent going to the top 1 per cent? Do you hear them talk about that at all?' Biden said.

THE FACTS: Biden's comments are misleading. The tax cuts disproportionately favor the top 1 per cent, but not nearly as much as Biden and many Democrats claim.

Biden can cite his figure because many of the Trump tax cuts for families and individuals will expire, unless Congress extends them. If they expire as scheduled, 83 per cent of the tax cuts that remain in place will go to the top 1 per cent of earners in 2027, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

But's it's not the case that the highest 1 per cent of income earners are getting 83 per cent of the benefits now or over the next several years. Biden is expected to propose a corporate tax increase that would undo a lot of what Trump achieved in his 2017 overhaul.

ON THE FILIBUSTER STASTICS

BIDEN'S CLAIM: There were five times as many motions to break the filibuster in 2020 than there were between 1917 and 1971.

'Between 1917 and 1971, the filibuster existed, there were a total of 58 motions to break a filibuster. That whole time. Last year alone there were five times that many,' the president said.

THE FACTS: Biden's figures are misleading. In 2020, the number of motions filed to end a Senate debate - a proxy measure for the use of the filibuster - was about double, not five times, the number from 1917 to 1971, CNN found.

According to official Senate data, there were 58 cloture motions filed from 1917 through 1970 and 13 filed in 1971. If Biden was referring to the number of cloture motions filed from 1917 through 1970, he'd be right when he said there were a total of 58 but if the 1971 figures are added in the total number of cloture motions would be 71.

While Biden exaggerated the number of cloture motions filed in the past year, he was accurate on his general point that the number of filibusters has increased. There were 118 cloture motions filed in 2020 alone, closer to double the amount filed between 1917 and 1971.

U.S. Border Patrol agents question asylum seekers after their group of immigrants crossed the Rio Grande into Texas +7
U.S. Border Patrol agents question asylum seekers after their group of immigrants crossed the Rio Grande into Texas

VACCINATION RATE IN THE US VERSUS THE REST OF THE WORLD

BIDEN'S CLAIM: He said that 'no other country in the world has even come close, not even close to what we are doing' on getting COVID vaccines into people's arms.

THE FACTS: The United States has vaccinated more total people than any other country in the world but there are smaller nations that have vaccinated a larger proportion of their total population.

The US has administered vaccines to more than 130 million people but 16 countries - including Chile, Israel and the United Kingdom - have administered vaccines to more people per capita.

THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

BIDEN'S CLAIM: That since his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was signed passed a 'majority of forecasters have significantly increased their projections. Now projecting it will exceed 6%, a 6% growth in GDP.'

THE FACTS: It's true that many economists upgraded their 2021 gross domestic product forecasts north of 6% either just before or after the package was passed by Congress, CNN found, but it's hard to say whether a majority did without a survey of all economists.

As it was apparent the COVID relief plan would become law, several economists upgraded their forecasts of 2021 US GDP growth.

RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas said the legislation would boost GDP by 3 points and is predicting 7.2% growth in 2021.

In March, Goldman Sachs increased its 2021 US GDP growth projection to 7% and Morgan Stanley is now predicting 7.3% growth.

REPUBLICAN SUPPORT FOR BIDEN'S COVID RELIEF PACKAGE

BIDEN'S CLAIM: The president claimed support from Republican voters for his plan even as he didn't garner a single GOP vote in Congress. He said that even if Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says that 'the last thing I did, this last piece of legislation, is so far left, well, then he ought to take a look at his party. Over 50% of them must be over that edge as well. Because they support what I did.'

THE FACTS: While polls have shown Republicans support the American Rescue Plan multiple surveys have shown that level of support is below the majority level.

A CNN poll in March found 26% of Republican supported the plan while 73% opposed. A Monmouth University poll found Republican support at 33%.

CHEAT SHEETS

Additionally, images taken at the news conference showed Biden using cheat sheets to help him with the questioning.

The 78-year-old is seen holding one sheet that showed the headshots of journalists that he planned to call on.

Another cheat card listed stats about infrastructure, but Biden was still forced to correct himself after mistakenly saying the US ranked 85th in the world in infrastructure.

The bullet point on one of his notes read: 'The United States now ranks 13th globally in infrastructure quality, down from 5th place in 2002.'

The performance has been blasted by former President Donald Trump and a host of media commentators, including Sean Hannity who called it 'embarrassing' and said: 'We really need to ask who is running the show at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?'

Tripping up the stairs and forgetting his Pentagon chief's name: Biden's record of gaffes

AIR FORCE ONE SLIP-UP

Video last week showed Biden tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.

Biden grabbed the hand railing to catch his balance, but lost his footing twice more and fell to his knees.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later told reporters that Biden was '100 per cent fine', adding that it was 'pretty windy'.

CALLING KAMALA 'PRESIDENT HARRIS'

Just a day earlier, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as 'President Harris.'

'Now when President Harris and I took a virtual tour of a vaccination center in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that, on that tour injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope,' Biden said.

Later that day, when the White House released the transcript of his speech, Harris's proper title was inserted with brackets.

FORGOT PENTAGON CHIEF'S NAME

In a speech on March 9, Biden seemed to forget the name of his Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

'I want to thank Sec - the former general - I keep calling him "General,"' Biden said.

'My - the guy who runs that outfit over there. I want to make sure we thank the Secretary for all he's done to try to implement what we've just talked about, and for recommending these two women for promotion.'

MIXES UP GRANDDAUGHTERS

During an Election Day speech in Philadelphia, Biden trailed off as he told the crowd: 'I want to introduce you to two of my granddaughters...this is my son, Beau Biden who a lot of you helped elect to the Senate in Delaware.'

The then-candidate had meant to introduce the crowd to Natalie, Beau's daughter. But he had also mixed up his granddaughters - having put his arm around Finnegan Biden, Hunter's daughter.

Beau Biden passed away in 2015 after a months-long battle with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest types of brain cancer.

TOLD STATE SENATOR IN WHEELCHAIR TO STAND UP

In 2008, after Biden had been named Barack Obama's running mate, he attended a campaign rally in Missouri. It was there that he called on Missouri state senator Chuck Graham, who passed away last year, to stand up for the crowd.

'I'm told Chuck Graham, state senator, is here. Stand up Chuck, let 'em see you,' Biden said - before realizing Graham was in a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy.

'Oh, God love you. What am I talking about. I'll tell you what, you're making everybody else stand up, though, pal,' Biden corrected himself.

'I still think the majority of the American people don't like the fact that we are now ranked what, 85th in the world in infrastructure. I mean, look,' he said, before later circling back and clarifying: 'We rank 13th globally in infrastructure.'

Despite the cheat sheets, Biden at several points in the press conference appeared to lose his train of thought.

After speaking for four minutes about the surge of migrants at the border, he remarked, 'And the other thing we're doing, I might add...' before cutting himself off to ask, 'Am I giving you too long of an answer? Because if you don't want the detail …'

'I don't know how much detail you want about immigration,' he continued. 'Maybe I'll stop there.'

At another point, Biden was speaking at length about the Senate filibuster when he lost his train of thought again.

'I've never been particularly poor at calculating how to get things done in the United States Senate. So the best way to get something done, if you hold near and dear to you that you like to be able to…' he said, trailing off.

'Anyway, we're ready to get a lot done,' he then continued.

At another point in the press conference, things turned downright bizarre when Biden made a reference to 'Jim Eagle' when accusing Republicans of trying to restrict voting rights to disenfranchise black voters.

'So I'm convinced that we'll be able to stop this because it is the most pernicious thing. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle,' he said of voting restrictions.

Observers all seemed to agree that Biden was trying to make the point that restrictions such as voter ID laws are 'worse than Jim Crow' -- but the exact role of Jim Eagle in the analogy was lost on many.

Jim Crow refers to laws that enforced racial segregation in schools, public places, transportation and all aspect of public life in many U.S. states from the 1870s to the 1950s.

Biden's Jim Eagle remarks predictably drew mockery from conservative critics.

'Duh. It's an analogy. Crow, eagle. They're both birds, but an eagle is much bigger than a crow,' said Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 'That means that asking people to show a driver's license when they vote is much more racist than segregation and lynchings.'

'Segregation and lynchings were Jim Crow, voter ID laws are Jim Eagle -- way worse,' he added sarcastically.

Thursday's conversation was his first since he took office on January 20. It was also limited to 25 reporters.

At the one-hour press conference on Thursday, Biden called on just 10 reporters to ask questions, and many of them focused on the migrant crisis at the southern border, leaving little time for other subjects.

Though Biden addressed relations with China at length, he faced no questions about the ongoing investigation of the origins of COVID-19 -- or any other question about his pandemic response and vaccine rollout.

There were no questions about potential tax hikes to fund Biden's reported $3 trillion green infrastructure plan, and relations with Russia were left unmentioned despite recent tensions after Biden labeled Vladimir Putin a 'killer'.

Biden was also not asked to weigh in on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, his fellow Democrat who faces twin scandals over his handling of nursing homes in the pandemic, and allegations of sexual harassment and bullying. This week, reports emerged he had also prioritized COVID-19 testing for family, including his CNN anchor brother Chris, and friends at the height of the pandemic when ordinary New Yorkers struggled to get access.

Parents desperate to get their children back in the classroom also did not get the chance to hear Biden's plan to reopen schools in the coronavirus pandemic.

Also unmentioned at the presser was a recent report from Politico detailing a 2018 incident in which the Secret Service intervened after president's daughter-in-law Hallie discarded a gun belonging to Hunter Biden in a trash can.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9403721/AP-FACT-CHECK-Biden-skews-figures-border-taxes.html

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