Joe Biden has faced fresh criticisms over claims he used to ‘teach political theory’ at the University of Pennsylvania. So, did he ever actually teach at UPenn?
Joe Biden mentioned his supposed teaching experience while speaking at Prince George Community College in Maryland on Thursday (14 September) for an economic address. However, people were quick to point out the reality of Biden’s ‘teaching’ history.
Joe Biden claims he taught ‘political theory’ at the University of Pennsylvania
During the speech, the 80-year-old spoke about the threats that American democracy is currently facing before referencing his time ‘teaching’ at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Our democracy is under attack, and we got to fight for it,” Biden said.
“I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years and I used to teach political theory. And folks, you always hear, every generation has to fight for democracy.”
Did Joe Biden teach at the University of Pennsylvania?
While Joe Biden was an honorary professor at the Philadelphia school, there is no evidence he actually taught classes at the University of Pennsylvania.
Biden served as the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Professor of the Practice from February 2017 to April 2019, between his term in the White House as vice president and the start of his presidential campaign.
However, he never carried out the tasks of typical professors, like teaching classes or conducting independent research. Furthermore, a fact-check on his claim clarified that “the duration of the position was closer to two years than four, since he was on leave while running for president.”
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Biden made a dozen or so public appearances on campus but never taught a regular class.
However, those were mostly Q&A’s and public events, which earned him around $900,000 while holding the honorary post. He gave one lecture at the university’s Wharton School of Economics.
Biden receives criticism over his ‘pretend life’
Commentators have criticised Biden for his latest embellishment.
On September 11, he was accused by a reporter of falsely claiming he was at the World Trade Center in New York City a day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when his own autobiography says he was in Washington DC at the time.
GOP national spokeswoman Madison Gesiotto Gilbert commented, “Another day, Another lie” after Biden’s comments about teaching at Pennsylvania.
Author Carol Roth said, “Biden’s pretend life sounds very fun and interesting.”
Neither The White House nor Biden have responded to the recent claims.
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