From guns to economy: THREE false and misleading claims made by Biden in his SOTU
President Joe Biden calling for unity, announced new measures against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. He also claimed several domestic 'wins' in his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, March 1. But are all his self-congratulatory claims valid?
MEAWW previously reported how Biden had a slip-of-the-tongue when he mistakenly referred to the Ukrainians as "Iranian people" in his SOTU speech. We also reported how the US President's 'fund the police' comment raised eyebrows, especially since the Democrats have always shown unconditional support for the Black Lives Matter protests and the 'defund the police' movement.
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The following are three false or misleading claims the POTUS made in his hour-long speech on Tuesday.
'Repeal the liability shield. It makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can't be sued'
This statement is outright false, considering gun manufacturers can be sued. Meanwhile, there are several other industries in the US that are shielded from lawsuits owing to certain liability protections. Democrats, however, are aiming to remove a couple of unique protections the gun industry enjoys. For one, gun manufacturers cannot be held liable for the use of their products in crime, according to the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. However, this doesn't mean they cannot be sued at all. They are still liable for a range of things like negligence, breach of contract in the purchase of a firearm, marketing practices, and damages due to defects in design, according to the Daily Mail.
In 2019, the Supreme Court allowed a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Remington Arms Co. after survivors and families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting sought to sue the company partly responsible for the tragedy due to its marketing practices. The families secured a $73 million settlement, and the gun manufacturer is currently bankrupt.
'Our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year, more jobs created in one year than ever before in the history of America'
This claim is misleading because the job growth in the US since Biden took office is mostly thanks to the job market bouncing back in its recovery mode after the Covid-19 pandemic. The country added 6.6 million jobs in Biden's first year, which is more than any year since tracking began in 1939. However, the President ignored the fact that the pandemic had caused the loss of 22 million jobs in two months. Furthermore, the job market had already started to rebound under President Donald Trump in the summer of 2020. Meanwhile, the US is still short of more than 2 million jobs in January 2022 as compared to where the country was when the pandemic hit. Biden's so-called gains still include a significant dip in the job market that is yet to recover completely from the pandemic slump, according to fact checkers.
'The American Rescue Plan is helping millions of families by 'cutting energy costs for families an average of $500 a year by combating climate change.''
This claim made by Biden is also false. While US citizens might see such savings by 2030, families will not immediately start saving $500 per year due to climate provisions in the American Rescue Plan, according to a third-party analysis by the Rhodium Group. The nonpartisan research firm analyzed how much greenhouse gas emissions the US could cut by passing clean energy legislation, introducing new federal regulations, as well as forcing states to pass new climate and energy bills. "Long-term tax credits, investments in energy efficiency and other factors cushion consumers from price increases associated with new standards and regulations," the Rhodium report noted, per the Daily Mail. "On a national average basis, households save roughly $500 a year in energy costs in 2030 in our joint action scenario."