CLAIM: President Joe Biden misspelled the word “billion” while addressing reporters after debt ceiling talks with congressional leaders at the White House.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. C-SPAN video shows Biden spelled out “billion” correctly in his May 9 remarks, although it is harder to hear in lower-quality footage circulating online and was misspelled in a White House transcript.
THE FACTS: Social media users are sharing the low-quality clip online, suggesting that the president needs remedial spelling instruction.
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“We have cut the deficit by $160 billion dollars — billion,” Biden says. He then spells the word “billion” for emphasis. One Instagram post that shared the clip quotes Biden as saying “B-I-L-O-I-O-N dollars.” “He can spell about as well as he can speak,” reads the caption.
While it does sound like Biden may have misspelled the word due to the speed at which he says it, the president can be heard clearly sounding out two L’s in higher-quality C-SPAN footage from the press conference, which came after he met with congressional leaders about the debt ceiling.
This is even more apparent when the video is set to half-speed, which can be changed in the C-SPAN video’s settings.
The spelling claim previously circulated online in the days after the event because a White House transcript of Biden’s remarks also includes a typo that makes it seem as though he spelled “billion” incorrectly.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment about the error.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
