Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
President Joe Biden delivers a speech on voting rights at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 13, 2021. (AP)
Biden misspoke about turnout numbers, but he didn’t concede 6 million votes
If Your Time is short
-
Biden misspoke about the the number of voters in the 2020 election, in which he defeated Donald Trump by 7 million votes. He did not concede any votes.
A TV program called "The Real Story" made the ridiculous claim that President Joe Biden "conceded" 6 million votes in the 2020 election that put him in the White House.
"Biden concedes 6mil votes" is the headline on a Facebook post that includes video of the program, which is produced by the conservative One America News network.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Host Natalie Harp played a clip from a Biden voting rights speech in Philadelphia on July 13, in which he said:
"All told, more than 150 Americans of every age, of every race, of every background exercised their right to vote."
The official White House transcript inserted "[million]," indicating that Biden mistakenly omitted that word.
Featured Fact-check
Harp then cited a Trump statement that said:
"Biden just said 150 people voted in the 2020 Presidential Election (Scam!). On the assumption that he meant 150 million people, and based on the fact that I got 75 million+++, that would mean that Biden got 75 million votes, which is 6 million votes less than what they said they got. So what is that all about? Are they already conceding 6 million votes?"
Trump did not get more than 75 million votes.
Official results from the Federal Election Commission show there were nearly 158.4 million votes cast for president: 81.3 million (51.3%) for Biden — some seven million more than the 74.2 million (46.9%) for Trump; the rest of the votes were for other candidates.
Biden left out the word "million," but he did say "more than." He did not concede six million votes.
We rate the statement Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook, post, July 15, 2021
Donald Trump, statement, July 14, 2021
The White House, "Remarks by President Biden on Protecting the Sacred, Constitutional Right to Vote," July 13, 2021
Federal Election Commission, 2020 presidential election results, Jan. 28, 2021
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Tom Kertscher
Biden misspoke about turnout numbers, but he didn’t concede 6 million votes
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.