Biden called out for telling embellished personal anecdotes during Howard Stern chat

President Joe Biden's tendency to stretch the truth and embellish personal stories beyond all rational justification is well-known in political circles, and during a Friday interview with shock jock Howard Stern, he only added to his reputation for telling tall tales.

As Fox News reports, Biden once again pulled out the old saw about having been arrested during a civil rights protest when he was a young man, prompting critics to note the utter absence of evidence that any such thing ever occurred.

“No evidence”

Engaging in yet another re-telling of his supposed exploits as a champion of desegregation during the civil rights era, Biden regaled Stern with a story of what his mother allegedly said with regard to his decision to join the Obama ticket in 2008.

“She said, 'Remember when they were desegregating Lynnfield, the neighborhood...suburbia -- and I told you -- and there was a Black family moving in and there was – people were down there protesting; I told you not to go down there, and you went down, remember that?” Biden began.

According to the president, his mother continued, “And you got arrested standing on the porch with a Black family? And they brought you back, the police. And I said, 'Yeah, Mom, I remember that,'” Biden continued.

No less than that perennially Democrat-friendly New York Times felt compelled to debunk Biden's statement, saying on Friday that the president “appeared to once again stretch the truth about being arrested at a Delaware desegregation protest as a teenager,” adding, “[t]here is no evidence that he was ever arrested at a civil-rights protest.”

Newsmaking interview

In addition to the questionable claims of a civil rights-era arrest and an employment past that includes time piloting an 18-wheeler – subsequently debunked by CNN -- Biden's interview with Stern made headlines for another intriguing reason.

During their chat, Biden told Stern that he was indeed planning to debate presumptive GOP candidate Donald Trump ahead of November's election, though he remained somewhat vague on the details.

The revelation was something of a reversal of prior comments from the campaign and from Biden himself which were decidedly noncommittal about the prospect, with the president suggesting that Trump's behavior would determine his willingness to participate.

Asked whether he would debate, Biden said, “I am, somewhere. I don't know when. But I'm happy to debate him.”

That statement was music to Trump's ears, as he has been clamoring for a chance to meet Biden on stage since the moment he announced his campaign for another term in office.

Speaking from the Manhattan courthouse where his hush money trial is taking place, Trump said Friday, “He can do it anytime he wants, including tonight. He can do it tonight. I invited him to the courthouse that he has us tied up in....[b]ut I'm here, I'm ready willing and able,” and his millions of supporters across the country have no doubt whatsoever that he is.