President Joe Biden insists he gave college-level lectures on political theory for several years.
During an event on Thursday, Biden said, “Democracy is at stake, folks. Our democracy is under attack. And we gotta fight for it.”
“I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years. And I used to teach political theory. And folks, you always hear every generation has to fight for democracy. And I found myself – it’s automatic, we didn’t have to believe it – but we do,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Biden claims he "taught political theory" at the University of Pennsylvania.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 14, 2023
He never taught a single class at UPenn. pic.twitter.com/i7Or2dfp4k
Conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Biden claims he taught four years of political theory at UPenn. One problem: it never happened.”
Biden claims he taught four years of political theory at UPenn. One problem: it never happened. pic.twitter.com/i2IztITifj
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 14, 2023
“President Biden said today, ‘I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years.’ He said he taught ‘political theory.’ He was in fact an honorary professor at UPenn. There’s no indication, however, beyond a few lectures and talks, that he actually taught classes,” wrote RealClearPolitics’ Philip Wegmann.
President Biden said today, "I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years." He said he taught "political theory."
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) September 14, 2023
He was in fact an honorary professor at UPenn
There's no indication, however, beyond a few lectures and talks, that he actually taught classes.
In 2021, fact-checking site Snopes noted, “From 2017 to 2021, then-former Vice President Joe Biden was the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time there, he collected more than $900,000.”
Yet, it added, “This role was honorary. He gave lectures and talks to students on campus, but did not teach a full semester’s course load during that time.”
During the same event on Thursday, Biden avoided taking questions.
“There’s a lot more I know we could talk about. I wish I had a chance to take all your questions but I’m gonna get in real trouble if I do that,” the president said.
BIDEN: "I wish I had a chance to take all your questions but I'm gonna get in real trouble if I do that" pic.twitter.com/tL1V5KeyMr
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 14, 2023
His comments came as he was delivering remarks about the difference between so-called “Bidenomics” and “MAGAnomics”