Biden Says He Went “From Senator to President” — Forgetting 8 Years as VP; Claims “Inflation Is Down” at 8.2%; Fetterman Dodges Doctors Question; Elon Musk Twitter Concerns

On 11/3/2022, President Biden delivered a campaign speech at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California for Democratic congressional candidate Mike Levin. The event produced a compilation of notable moments: Biden said he went “from being a senator to a president” — skipping over his eight years as vice president; he claimed “economic growth is up, price inflation is down, real incomes are up, gas prices are down” — a list of claims that were either misleading or false; he confused Senators Tim Scott and Rick Scott; and he pitched solar panel tax credits that required families to spend $13,000 for a $500 annual savings. The compilation also included Fetterman dodging questions about letting doctors brief the press and concerns about Elon Musk’s use of Twitter.

”From Senator to President” — Forgetting the VP

Biden’s most notable gaffe came early. “I said when I ran and I got elected president, I’d be the senator — excuse me — go from being a senator to a president for all the people,” Biden said.

The self-correction from “senator” to “president” was routine for Biden. But the corrected statement itself contained a larger error: Biden went from senator to vice president (2009-2017) to private citizen (2017-2021) to president (2021). He did not go “from being a senator to a president.” He skipped eight years of his own political biography — arguably the most significant years, as they included his service under Barack Obama and the personal tragedy of losing his son Beau.

The omission of the vice presidency was not a minor detail. Biden had served as vice president for two full terms. It was the office that gave him the national profile and experience that made his presidential candidacy viable. Forgetting it — or verbally erasing it — added to the catalog of biographical confusion that marked Biden’s public appearances in 2022.

The List of Opposites

Biden then delivered what critics described as a “list of opposites” — a series of economic claims that contradicted the data voters were experiencing. “Economic growth is up, price inflation is down, real incomes are up, gas prices are down,” Biden said.

Each claim required significant qualification:

“Economic growth is up”: GDP had contracted in both Q1 and Q2 of 2022 before rebounding in Q3. The Q3 rebound was driven largely by a narrowing trade deficit, not by domestic economic strength. Consumer spending growth was slowing, and business investment was weakening.

“Price inflation is down”: Inflation had declined slightly from its 9.1% June peak to 8.2% — still the highest sustained rate in 40 years. Telling families experiencing 8.2% inflation that “inflation is down” was measuring from the worst month rather than any reasonable baseline. Inflation was 1.4% when Biden took office.

“Real incomes are up”: Real wages — wages adjusted for inflation — had declined for 18 consecutive months. Nominal wages were rising, but inflation was rising faster. Americans’ purchasing power was lower, not higher, than when Biden took office. This claim was flatly false by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ own data.

“Gas prices are down”: Gas prices were down from the June peak of $5.01 but remained approximately $3.76 — 57% higher than the $2.39 Inauguration Day price. The claim was true relative to the worst month and false relative to the pre-Biden baseline.

Biden delivered these four claims in rapid succession, creating an impression of a booming economy that contradicted the experience of virtually every American family.

Tim Scott vs. Rick Scott

Biden confused two Republican senators — again. “And then you have the guy who heads up the campaign committee for elected Republican senators. Guy named Tim Scott. I mean Rick Scott, excuse me,” Biden said.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina was a different person entirely. Biden had confused the two Scotts on multiple previous occasions, despite them being prominent national figures with distinct identities, appearances, and roles.

The confusion was particularly notable because Tim Scott was one of the most prominent Black Republicans in America, while Rick Scott was a white former governor of Florida. The inability to distinguish between them based on name alone — despite their entirely different political profiles — was another data point in the pattern of name confusion that characterized Biden’s public appearances.

Solar Panels: Spend $13K to Save $500

Biden repeated his pitch for IRA climate tax credits. “It includes tax credits — help families buy energy-efficient appliances, put solar panels on your home, help you buy electric vehicles, weatherize your home. Things will save, experts say, an average of $500 a year according to experts,” Biden said.

The math remained as unfavorable as when Biden had first made the pitch: residential solar panel systems cost $15,000-$25,000 before the 30% IRA tax credit, meaning families needed to spend roughly $10,000-$17,000 out of pocket to achieve the $500 annual savings Biden was advertising. The payback period was 20-35 years — longer than many families stayed in their homes and longer than the typical lifespan of the panels themselves.

With five days until the midterms, Biden’s closing economic argument was: spend thousands on home improvements you can’t afford to save hundreds per year in the future.

Fetterman: “I Choose My Real Doctors”

The compilation included a segment from John Fetterman’s interview about his health transparency. When asked whether he would let his doctors brief the press, Fetterman dodged. “I just believe that we have our doctors just weigh in on that. And they believe that I’m fit to serve,” Fetterman said.

“I choose the, you know, my real doctors as opposed to some of the criticism from, like, you know, like a real doctor. That’s just trying to weaponize,” Fetterman continued — his sentence structure reflecting the auditory processing difficulties visible in his recent debate performance.

The reporter pressed: “Is there a reason that you don’t want your doctors to take questions?”

Fetterman’s response — that his doctors had certified him as “fit to serve” without taking press questions — paralleled the Biden White House’s approach to presidential health questions: asserting fitness through brief statements while avoiding the detailed, adversarial questioning that would test the assertion.

Elon Musk and Twitter

The compilation included concerns about Musk’s Twitter acquisition. An interviewee said: “I just want to make sure that we use your enormous power to just make sure that we don’t have the kind of platform where we push those kinds of theories,” reflecting Democratic anxiety about content moderation changes under Musk’s ownership.

Key Takeaways

Biden said he went “from senator to president” — forgetting his eight years as vice president, the role that made his presidency possible.
He claimed “inflation is down, real incomes are up, gas prices are down” — a list that was misleading or false by BLS data showing 18 months of declining real wages and gas still 57% above Inauguration Day.
Biden confused Senators Tim Scott and Rick Scott again — a recurring confusion he had made on multiple previous occasions.
His closing midterm economic pitch was solar panel tax credits requiring $13,000+ in spending for $500 annual savings.
Fetterman declined to let doctors brief the press about his fitness, saying “I choose my real doctors” — mirroring the Biden White House’s approach to health transparency.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

I said when I ran and I got elected president, I’d be the senator — excuse me — go from being a senator to a president for all the people.
Economic growth is up, price inflation is down, real incomes are up, gas prices are down.
The guy who heads up the campaign committee — guy named Tim Scott. I mean Rick Scott, excuse me.
Tax credits — solar panels on your home, weatherize your home. Experts say an average of $500 a year.
I just believe that we have our doctors weigh in. They believe I’m fit to serve.
Build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out compared to mega trickle-down economics.

Full transcript: 491 words transcribed via Whisper AI.