CNN senior presidential fact checker Daniel Dale rose to media fame for his obsessive focus on the statements of former president Donald Trump. Now that Joe Biden is in the White House, though, Dale seems to have lost interest in his main job.
Now: Ahead of Biden's inauguration, Dale stressed that "the same 'intensity and rigor' should be applied to the incoming president," with the only difference being that "Biden doesn't lie as much as Trump." And Dale's Twitter bio continues to advertise that he's all about "Fact-checking the president."
But the last time Dale fact-checked Biden was on March 30. For nearly three months now, Dale has exclusively fact-checked Republicans. Eighteen of those 29 fact checks have been of his old bête noire, Trump, who is running for president again.
Trump’s '1,850 boxes!!!" attack on Biden is bunk. Those boxes are…papers from his Senate career, which he donated to U. of Delaware, which is entirely normal, because senators, unlike presidents, own their records and can do with them what they please:https://t.co/DVhGAdx4wn
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 9, 2023
Breaking down Trump's 'Soros' attack on the Manhattan DA https://t.co/h3NbA1iYGj
— CNN France PR (@CNNFrancePR) March 31, 2023
Meanwhile, Biden has continued to tell plenty of whoppers.
Washington Post: "Biden’s misleading deficit claim earns him a Bottomless Pinocchio"
New York Times: "Fact-Checking the Kickoff to Biden’s Re-election Campaign"
Washington Free Beacon: "FACT CHECK: Joe Biden Said Republicans Are 'Banning Books' Like 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Verdict: 4 Clintons."
Daily Beast: "Joe Biden Strangely Repeats False Claim That His Son Died in Iraq"
Then: By comparison, here are some of Trump's statements as president that Dale deemed in need of fact-checking.
As part of a scaremongering segment, Trump warns people that Democrats want to put up windmills (wind turbines) and you'll look out your window and see a "big monster churning."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 20, 2020
FACT CHECK: President Trump promoted a fake Ronald Reagan quote about him.
While the photo is real, the supposed quote is fake. Reagan never said of Trump, "...when I met that young man, I felt like I was the one shaking hands with the president." https://t.co/drZXKogcpq pic.twitter.com/uWHF6Tz4fd
— CNN (@CNN) July 9, 2019
Prominent Native activist Faith Spotted Eagle tells me Trump's "Pocahontas" is an "emotional assault" that "carries as much weight as a physical assault."
"He can phrase it and twist it and distort it any way he wants, the fact remains: that name does not belong in his mouth."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 27, 2017
Dale did not respond to the Free Beacon's questions about why he is MIA on his beat. But it isn't the first time.
FACT CHECK: CNN Fact-Checker Daniel Dale Is 'Fact-Checking the President'
VERDICT: No, not really.
Via @AndrewStilesUSA https://t.co/65bAjjd8mw
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 17, 2023
Dale would hardly be alone in moving the journalistic goal posts since Trump left office.
President Biden tripped on a sandbag and fell as he completed handing out diplomas at the US Air Force Academy commencement in Colorado. He appeared fine afterward, walking without assistance to his seat in the stands. https://t.co/PBJZayPWp0
— CNN (@CNN) June 1, 2023
President Trump defends cautious walk down ramp, which raised questions about his health https://t.co/z68ZleNtQ9 pic.twitter.com/VBI3aEfB16
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 16, 2020