>>> THIS MORNING JOE BIDEN ON DEFENSE AFTER A NEW REPORT
IDENTIFIES MULTIPLE INACCURACIES
IN A STORY HE IS TELLING ON THE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
CAMPAIGN TRAIL. >> YOUNG NAVY CAPTAIN, NAVY, UP
IN THE MOUNTAINS IN AFGHANISTAN.
ONE OF HIS BUDDIES GOT SHOT,
FELL DOWN A RAVINE ABOUT
60 FEET, FOUR STAR GENERAL ASKED
ME WOULD I GO UP INTO THE FOB.
EVERYBODY GOT CONCERNED THE VICE
PRESIDENT GOING UP IN THE MIDDLE
OF THIS.
OF THIS. WE CAN LOSE A VICE PRESIDENT.
WE CAN’T LOSE MANY MORE OF THESE
KIDS.
KIDS. THIS GUY CLIMBED DOWN A RAVINE,
CARRIED THIS GUY UP ON HIS BACK
UNDER FIRE, AND THE GENERAL
WANTED KNEE PIN THE SILVER STAR
ON HIM.
ON HIM. I GOT UP THERE AND GOD’S TRUTH
MY WORD AS A BIDEN HE STOOD AT
ATTENTION.
ATTENTION. I WENT TO PIN HIM.
HE SAID, DO NOT PIN IT ON ME,
PLEASE, SIR.
PLEASE, SIR. DO NOT DO THAT.
HE DIED.
HE DIED. HE DIED.
HE DIED. >> BUT AS "THE WASHINGTON POST"
WAS FIRST TO POINT OUT BIDEN GOT
THE TIME PERIOD, THE LOCATION,
THE HEROIC ACT, THE TYPE OF
MEDAL, THE MILITARY BRANCH, AND
THE RANK OF THE RECIPIENT WRONG
AS WELL AS HIS OWN ROLE IN THE
CEREMONY.
CEREMONY. BIDEN VISITED KONAR PROVINCE IN
2008 AS A U.S. SENATOR NOT AS
VICE PRESIDENT.
VICE PRESIDENT. THE SERVICE MEMBER WHO PERFORMED
THE CELEBRATED RESCUE BIDEN
DESCRIBED WAS A 20-YEAR-OLD ARMY
SPECIALIST NOT A MUCH OLDER NAVY
CAPTAIN AND THAT SOLDIER KYLE J.
WHITE NEVER HAD A SILVER STAR OR
ANY OTHER MEDAL PINNED ON HIM BY
BIDEN.
BIDEN. AT A WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY SIX
YEARS AFTER BIDEN’S VISIT WHITE
STOOD AT ATTENTION AS PRESIDENT
BARACK OBAMA PLACED A MEDAL OF
HONOR, THE NATION’S HIGHEST
AWARD FOR VALOR KS AROUND HIS
NECK.
NECK. NBC ROAD WARRIOR GARRETT HAAKE
IS IN SOUTH CAROLINA WHERE BIDEN
CONTINUES ON A CAMPAIGN SWING.
WHAT DOES JOE BIDEN HAVE TO SAY
ABOUT THIS?
ABOUT THIS? >> Reporter: HEY, CHRIS.
GOOD MORNING FROM GEORGETOWN,
SOUTH CAROLINA.
SOUTH CAROLINA. I’M AT A BERNIE SANDERS RALLY
THIS MORNING, AN INTERESTING
OPPORTUNITY SIX MONTHS OUT IN
THIS RACE TO SEE BOTH OF THE TWO
FRONT-RUNNERS ON BACK-TO-BACK
DAYS.
DAYS. FOR THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN THIS
STORY ESSENTIALLY COULD STEP ON
WHAT WAS OTHERWISE A VERY
POSITIVE, PRODUCTIVE TRIP FOR
HIM HERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
THAT’S WHY THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN IS
ESSENTIALLY DISMISSING IT MAKING
THE ARGUMENT THIS IS ONE OF
THOSE THINGS WHERE THEY BELIEVE
THE PRESS GETS WRAPS AROUND THE
AXLE ABOUT THE VICE PRESIDENT
MISSTATING SOMETHING BUT THE
POINT OF THE STORY WAS STILL
CLEAR.
CLEAR. YOU HEARD THAT FROM JOE BIDEN
HIMSELF YESTERDAY IN AN
INTERVIEW WITH "THE WASHINGTON
POST."
POST." THIS IS HOW HE DESCRIBED THE
WHOLE SITUATION.
WHOLE SITUATION. >> I WAS MAKING THE POINT HOW
COURAGEOUS THESE PEOPLE ARE, HOW
INCREDIBLE THEY ARE, THIS
GENERATION OF WARRIORS, THESE
FALLEN ANGELS WE’VE LOST.
AND, SO, I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE
PROBLEM IS.
PROBLEM IS. I MEAN, WHAT IS IT THAT I SAID
WRONG?
WRONG? >> AND, CHRIS, THAT’S ONE OF
THESE SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE
TO WAIT AND SEE HOW THIS PLAYS
OUT OVER A LONGER TIME PERIOD.
AS YOU POINTED OUT THE SERGEANT
AT THE CENTER OF ALL THIS WAS
NOT OFFENDED BY BIDEN’S HANDLING
OF THE ISSUE, SAID HE FELT BIDEN
UNDERSTOOD HIM.
UNDERSTOOD HIM. THE MILITARY COMMUNITY IS NOT
THE FIRST TO GET UPSET ABOUT
THIS, IT IS UNLIKELY IT GOES
MUCH FURTHER THAN THAT.
I HAVE TO TELL YOU FROM TALKING
TO VOTERS IN THE EARLY STAGES,
HOW FOLKS FEEL ABOUT JOE BIDEN
ON THIS KIND OF ISSUE, ON THE
GAFFES, IS PRETTY WELL BAKED IN.
FOLKS WHO ARE WORRIED THAT
PERHAPS HE MIGHT BE TOO OLD FOR
THE JOB ALREADY FELT THAT WAY.
AND THE FOLKS WHO FEEL LIKE HE
SPEAKS FROM THE HEART AND
SOMETIMES TRIPS OVER HIS FEET
CONTINUE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IS
JUST PART OF JOE BIDEN BEING JOE
BIDEN.
BIDEN. I HAVE NOT YET SEEN ANY OF THESE
STORIES REALLY STEP ON THE VICE
PRESIDENT’S MOMENTUM
PRESIDENT’S MOMENTUM PARTICULARLY HERE IN SOUTH
CAROLINA WHICH REMAINS HIS
STRONGEST EARLY PRIMARY STATE.
THOUGH AS YOU’RE HEARING BEHIND
ME BERNIE SANDERS GETTING A VERY
STRONG WELCOME THIS MORNING,
TOO.
TOO. >> THEY ARE CHANTING FOR HIM.
GARRETT HAAKE, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH.
MUCH. JOINING ME NOW IS A POLITICAL
REPORTER FOR THE POST AND CUR
ERR IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH
CAROLINA.
CAROLINA. BACK WITH ME FORMER CONGRESSMAN
CARLOS CARBELLO AND YOU’VE JUST
SPOKE WITH VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN
AND HEARD OUR REPORTING THAT
VOTERS AT LEAST THE ONES WE’VE
TALKED TO HAVEN’T SEEMED OVERLY
WORRIED ABOUT IT.
IS THAT SORT OF THE BIDEN CAMP’S
FEELING?
FEELING? IS THAT WHAT HE TOLD YOU?
HE IS UNCONCERNED ABOUT HOW
PEOPLE VIEW THIS?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. GARRETT IS EXACTLY RIGHT.
I SPOKE TO HIM, TO THE FORMER
VICE PRESIDENT YESTERDAY AND HIS
REMARKS WERE FAIRLY SIMILAR TO
WHAT HE SAID TO "THE WASHINGTON
POST."
POST." LOOK, THE ESSENCE OF THE STORY
WAS RIGHT, THAT THE POINT OF THE
STORY WAS ACCURATE.
YOU KNOW, I DID TRY TO ASK HIM,
DID YOU MISTAKE SOME OF THE
DETAILS OF THIS STORY?
HE SAID THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE
STORIES THAT HE LIKES TO TELL ON
THE TRAIL.
THE TRAIL. HE DESCRIBED SOME OF THEM.
I SAID, DID YOU CONFLATE THE
DETAILS OF SOME OF THESE STORIES
WHICH IS WHAT "THE WASHINGTON
POST" SEEMS TO REPORT?
HE SAID, NO.
I DON’T THINK SO.
HE HAD NOT READ THE STORY AT
THAT POINT.
THAT POINT. THE STORY ACTUALLY PUBLISHED
WHILE HE WAS SPEAKING AT CLINTON
COLLEGE IN ROCK HILL.
BUT GARRETT IS RIGHT THAT, YOU
KNOW, VOTERS ACROSS SOUTH
CAROLINA FOR THE MOST PART DON’T
CARE ABOUT THESE KIND OF, YOU
KNOW, SMALL ERRORS OR, YOU KNOW,
GAFFES AS WE LIKE TO CALL THEM,
MISSTATEMENTS.
MISSTATEMENTS. SOME OF THEM WHEN YOU TALK TO
THEM THEY FIND IT KIND OF
ENDEARING AND RELATABLE.
THEY DON’T EXPECT, YOU KNOW,
BIDEN TO BE PERFECT.
THEY’VE KNOWN HIM FOR VERY MANY
YEARS.
YEARS. THEY FEEL LIKE THEY KNOW HIM ON
A PERSONAL LEVEL.
IT DID NOT REALLY SEEM TO HAVE
ANY EFFECT ON HIS SUPPORTERS
HERE AND HIS POLLING NUMBERS IN
SOUTH CAROLINA HAVE REMAINED
ROCK SOLID SINCE THE DAY HE GOT
INTO THE RACE AND THEY’VE
REMAINED HIGHER IN SOUTH
CAROLINA THAN THEY HAVE IN ANY
OF THE EARLIER PRIMARY STATES OR
NATIONAL POLLS, TOO.
>> AMY, SOME PEOPLE POINTED OUT
THIS ONE INCIDENT KIND OF POINTS
OUT WHAT IS BOTH THE BIGGEST
STRENGTH YOU COULD ARGUE ABOUT
JOE BIDEN AND THE BIGGEST RISK.
THE RISK BEING THE GAFFES AND
WILL THEY HAVE A CUMULATIVE
EFFECT.
EFFECT. BUT THE EMPATHY THAT HE HAS.
WHEN YOU HAVE THE PERSON AT THE
CENTER OF THIS SAYING, I LOOKED
AT HIM.
AT HIM. I FELT HIM.
AND YOU SAW THAT CROWD WHEN HE
WAS TELLING THE STORY.
YOU COULD HEAR A PIN DROP.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> THAT IS HIS STRENGTH.
HIS RELATABILITY.
HIS RELATABILITY. PEOPLE’S BELIEF THAT HE
UNDERSTANDS THEM.
UNDERSTANDS THEM. >> AND HE COMES, I MEAN, HIS SON
SERVED IN THE MILITARY.
THIS IS ALSO PERSONAL TO HIM.
HE SPEAKS FROM THE HEART ON
THESE ISSUES.
THESE ISSUES. I THINK THAT IS WHY WHEN PEOPLE
ASK WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT
THIS HE’S LIKE WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
THIS IS ALL PART OF HIS STORY.
HE SEEMS VERY EMPATHETIC AT
TIMES.
TIMES. AND THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE REALLY
LIKE ABOUT HIM.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I THINK THAT
AS WE GET CLOSER TO IOWA, AS
PEOPLE START PAYING MORE
ATTENTION, I THINK THIS DRIP,
DRIP, DRIP OF INACCURACIES AND
GAFFES AND VERBAL FLUBS WILL
BEGIN TO HURT HIM.
THAT DOES CONCERN A LOT OF HIS
ALLIES WHICH IS WHY THEY HAVE
TOLD ME IN THE PAST HE SHOULD
MAYBE SLOW DOWN, THAT HE SHOULD
TAKE SOME BREAKS, CALL HIS
FAMILY.
FAMILY. THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IS GRUELING
AS WE KNOW.
>> BRUTAL.
>> BRUTAL. IT IS ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL WHATEVER
YOUR AGE IS.
SO, CONGRESSMAN, LOOK.
I MEAN, THIS ALSO RAISES THE AGE
ISSUE, RIGHT, HE WOULD BE IF HE
WERE ELECTED I THINK THE OLDEST
PRESIDENT EVER SWORN IN.
AND TO AMY’S POINT, AS THE
PRIMARIES GO ON AND CERTAINLY IN
A GENERAL UP AGAINST A PRESIDENT
WHO HAS NO PROBLEM IN HITTING
SOMEBODY EVEN AS SOMEONE HIMSELF
WHO HAS AT THE VERY LEAST A
COMPLICATED SORT OF RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE TRUTH, COULD THIS
BECOME MORE OF A PROBLEM,
CONGRESSMAN?
CONGRESSMAN? >> CHRIS, JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL
OPPONENTS ARE TRYING TO TIE
THESE GAFFES TO HIS AGE BUT THE
TRUTHAGE.
TRUTHAGE. BUT THE TRUTH IS THIS IS NOTHING
NEW.
NEW. THE VICE PRESIDENT HAS A LONG
HISTORY OF GAFFES, MISSTATEMENTS
MISSTATEMENTS, EXAGGERATING FOR
DRAMATIC EFFECT.
DRAMATIC EFFECT. THIS IS JUST WHO HE IS.
I THINK HE SHOULD OWN THAT.
YEAH, I GET IT WRONG SOMETIMES.
SOMETIMES I EXAGGERATE.
BUT THE POINT I’M MAKING IS IN
THIS CASE THESE YOUNG SOLDIERS
WE SHOULD ADMIRE AND RESPECT.
I DON’T THINK THIS IS GOING TO
BE A MAJOR ISSUE.
A LOT OF VOTERS EXPECT THIS.
AND IF IT EVEN UP BEING JOE
BIDEN AGAINST DONALD TRUMP,
ELOQUENCE IS NOT GOING TO BE A
MAJOR FACTOR IN THE RACE.
THEY ARE BOTH PRONE TO THESE
MISTAKES.
MISTAKES. THEY ARE HAD HE BOTH BROKEN TO
GAFFES THAT THEY LATER GET
CALLED OUT FOR.
.
. >> JOE BIDEN HAS A BIG EVENT.
COMING UP TWO WEEKS FROM NOW,
I’M TALKING ABOUT THE DEBATE.
HE WILL BE CENTERED.
LOOK AT THIS LINEUP ON EITHER
SIDE.
SIDE. BERNIE SANDERS AND ELIZABETH
WARREN.
WARREN. A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE, AS WE HAVE
LEGISLATIONED TO JOE BIDEN, THE
CRITICS SAYING YOU WILL NOT HEAR
IT FROM ELIZABETH WARREN OR
KAMALA HARRIS.
KAMALA HARRIS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS LINEUP,
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
.
. >> BRUTAL.
>> BRUTAL. HE’S RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF IT
ALL.
ALL. OBVIOUSLY SENATOR SANDERS IS
GOING TO COME AFTER HIM ON
MEDICARE FOR ALL.
ELIZABETH WARREN AND BERNIE
SANDERS ARE STILL GOING TO PUT
UP A UNITED FRONT.
THAT IS ALSO GOING TO BE HARD
FOR THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT
BECAUSE HE SORT OF IS IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE UNITED FRONT.
I DO EXPECT HER TO DEFEND
HERSELF WHEN SHE IS ATTACKED.
I THINK IT WILL BE VERY
INTERESTING HOW HE HANDLES
EVERYONE IN THE HEART OF IT ALL.
>> YOU HAVE BEEN ON THE DEBATE
STAGE BEFORE.
STAGE BEFORE. IT IS A NERVE INDUCING TO SAY
THE LEAST.
THE LEAST. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
.
. >> WELL, THE BEST THING JOE
BIDEN CAN DO IS BE HIMSELF.
NOT APOLOGIZE FOR HIS RECORD.
OWN HIS FLAWS.
EVERYONE IS GOING TO ATTACK HIM.
EVEN THOUGH HIS NUMBERS HAVE
FALLEN RECENTLY, HE IS STILL THE
FRONT-RUNNER OR PERCEIVED TO BE
THE FRONT-RUNNER.
THE FRONT-RUNNER. HE IS THE PARTNERSHIP IN
LEADERSHIP OF ONE OF THE MOST
POPULAR PRESIDENTS OF ALL TIME.
HE SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE, COOL,
CALM, COLLECTED, BE HIMSELF.
I STILL THINK THIS IS HIS