Politics

Biden claims he commuted over collapsed Baltimore Key Bridge by train ‘many times’ – but it doesn’t have any rail lines 

President Biden on Tuesday was fact-checked by social media users after claiming that he’s commuted over Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge “many, many times …  either on a train or by car.” 

Numerous people on X noted that the bridge, which fell into the Patapsco River early Tuesday after it was struck by a massive cargo ship, has never had rail lines attached to it. 

“At about 1:30 [a.m.], a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which I’ve been over many, many times commuting from the state of Delaware either on a train or by car,” Biden said in his first public remarks on the catastrophe. 

“I’ve been to Baltimore Harbor many times,” he added. “And the bridge collapsed, sending several people and vehicles into the water — into the river.” 

Biden claimed he used to commute over the Francis Scott Key Bridge by car or rail in his first remarks on the tragedy. Getty Images

Biden, who claims to have traveled over 1 million miles aboard Amtrak over the course of his 36 years in the Senate and eight years as vice president, was skewered for “inserting himself” into yet another tragedy. 

“So many lies! He lies just to lie,” one X user argued. “There is no value to him inserting himself into this situation.”

“Ummm…what train tracks is he referencing? Because there are none on the Francis Scott Key bridge,” radio talk show host Alan Sanders tweeted

“Oops here goes Joe AGAIN,” another person on the social media platform tweeted.

Several users also questioned the president’s mental acuity in light of his most recent gaffe

“Biden’s train is OFF THE TRACKS,” one X user chimed in

“Just another example of his mental derailment,” conservative podcast host Chad Prather tweeted

Six construction workers fixing potholes on the bridge at the time of the collapse are still missing. Getty Images
The bridge fell into the Patapsco River after being struck by a cargo ship early Tuesday. REUTERS

The White House told The Post that Biden was only making reference to having driven over the bridge.

“The President was clearly describing driving over the bridge while commuting between Delaware and D.C. during his 36-year Senate career,” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement.

Biden, the oldest-ever commander-in-chief, has a decades-long propensity for embellishing personal stories. 

Front cover of the New York Post on March 27, 2024.

Several of his misstatements have been related to national disasters.

The president has falsely claimed that he was at Ground Zero the day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — when he states in his own book that he was in Washington, DC, on Sept. 12 — and he’s also erroneously said he “watched” a Pittsburgh bridge collapse when in fact he visited the disaster site hours afterward. 

Search and rescue crews are still searching for six people missing after the Baltimore bridge collapse.

The missing are all construction workers from a crew that was patching potholes on the major roadway at the time of the collapse.