President Joe Biden was criticized across social media after sharing a "tall tale" about his uncle receiving a purple heart.
Biden shared the story during a town hall for veterans in Delaware on Friday.
Biden skewered for ‘ridiculous tall tale’ about giving uncle a ‘Purple Heart’: ‘Biggest serial liar elected'https://t.co/thx8sf2ujO
— John O'Hurley ☘️🐕☘️ (@ImJohnOHurley) December 18, 2022
"My dad, when I got elected vice president [in 2008], he said, ‘Joey, Uncle Frank fought in the Battle of the Bulge,’" Biden said.
"He was not feeling very well now — not because of the Battle of the Bulge, but he said, ‘and he won the Purple Heart and he never received it. He never got it. Do you think you could help him get it? We will surprise him,’" he added.
Biden claims his uncle Frank won Purple Heart but story doesn't add up https://t.co/7WtWHSQ3tu pic.twitter.com/3WWHqZYjGq
— New York Post (@nypost) December 16, 2022
"The known facts indicate it’s not true. Biden’s father, Joseph R. Biden Sr., died in September 2002 — more than six years before his son was elected vice president. Frank Biden, Joe Sr.’s brother, died in 1999," the New York Post reported.
"Frank Biden’s tombstone does not identify him as a Purple Heart honoree, nor does his obituary. A partial registry of known Purple Heart recipients also doesn’t note anyone by that name receiving the award, though that database is not comprehensive," it added.
Joe Biden says after he was elected VP, he awarded his Uncle Frank with a Purple Heart he earned at the Battle of the Bulge.
There is no evidence any of that is true — and Biden's uncle died in 1999, while Biden wasn't elected VP until 2008. pic.twitter.com/FlJLjFAE4A
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 17, 2022
The wild array of misinformation is also concerning for Americans aware of the details behind the account.
Biden was elected vice president under President Barack Obama in 2008. Biden's dad died six years earlier in 2002.
His uncle died in 1999, nearly a decade earlier, with no record of him receiving a purple heart.
The story adds to many other gaffes shared by the president during his term that have led to growing calls for a health evaluation concerning the president's cognitive abilities.
Biden's uncle served admirably, but the president's stories about him exist only in the realm of fiction, drawing attention to his own woes rather than honoring his military family member.
