নির্বাচনী ময়দানে নতুন সমীকরণ: ইসির প্রাথমিক যাচাই পেরিয়ে এনসিপিসহ ১৬ দল

 President Joe Biden conducted a solo news conference on Thursday following a NATO summit in Washington, aiming to address voter concerns about his capability to lead and worries among Democratic officials about his prospects against former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

During his remarks, Biden made several inaccurate and misleading statements. Here’s an examination of the facts.

Biden's Slip-Up During Putin-Zelensky Mention

Biden downplayed a slip-up during an event earlier on Thursday where he mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "President Putin" before quickly correcting himself. During the press conference, Biden acknowledged the error, saying, "I said, 'No, I'm sorry, Zelensky.' And then I added five other names."

Fact Check: Biden's subsequent claim was inaccurate. After correcting his Putin-Zelensky mix-up, Biden did not mention "five other names." Instead, following Biden's correction, Zelensky remarked that he is "better" than Putin, which Biden agreed with. Subsequently, Zelensky proceeded to deliver remarks while Biden stood beside him silently.

Biden's Recent Trips

"Biden mentioned the importance of pacing himself in his activities, stating, 'The next debate, I’m not going to be traveling 15 time zones a week before. Anyway. That’s what it was about.'

Fact Check: This statement is misleading. Biden did not travel abroad 'a week before' the June 27 CNN presidential debate, during which his performance was criticized. He returned to the US from Europe 12 days prior, on June 15.

After returning, Biden attended a fundraiser in Los Angeles on June 15, returned to the White House on June 16, and proceeded to Camp David on June 20 for intensive debate preparations. He remained at Camp David until the day of the CNN presidential debate held in Atlanta against Trump."

Trump's Statements Regarding NATO

Biden, criticizing Trump's stance on the NATO military alliance, said, "I think he said at one of his rallies, don’t hold me to this, recently, where, ‘NATO – I just learned about NATO,’ or something to that effect. Foreign policy’s never been his strong point.”

Facts First: Biden's description of Trump's comment was inaccurate. Trump did not say at a recent rally that “I just learned about NATO.” Instead, Trump mentioned at the rally that before his first alliance summit as president in 2017, he hadn’t known much about NATO.

At his Tuesday rally in Florida, Trump said: “I didn’t want to be obnoxious because I felt, you know, it was the first time I’d ever done this. I went; I didn’t even know what the hell NATO was too much before, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out. Like about two minutes. And the first thing I figured out was they weren’t paying.” Trump then continued with his usual false claims about NATO’s funding structure.

Biden can criticize Trump for his prior ignorance about NATO or his continued inaccuracies, but Biden's comments suggested Trump had only recently learned about NATO, rather than seven years ago.

Hamas and the West Bank

Discussing the conflict between Israel and Hamas, President Biden remarked on Thursday, “There is a growing dissatisfaction in, on the West Bank, from the Palestinians, about Hamas. Hamas is not popular now.”

**Facts First:** Available public opinion polling contradicts Biden's statement. Polling suggests that Hamas’ popularity in the West Bank has actually increased since its attack on Israel last October. 

A poll conducted in late May and early June by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, a reputable pollster based in the West Bank, found that:
- 73% of respondents in the West Bank supported Hamas' October attack on Israel.
- 82% of respondents in the West Bank were satisfied with Hamas’ performance in the current conflict with Israel.
- 71% of respondents in the West Bank preferred Hamas to control the Gaza Strip after the war.

On all these questions, Hamas scored higher among respondents in the West Bank than among those in Gaza. Additionally, around half of the West Bank respondents indicated they would vote for Hamas in hypothetical parliamentary elections. This is double the support level from a poll nine months prior and more than double the support for the more moderate rival Fatah in the latest poll.

Biden’s Endorsement from the United Auto Workers

When a reporter informed Biden that Reuters had reported concerns from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union leadership about his ability to win the election, Biden replied, “UAW just endorsed me, but go ahead.”

**Facts First:** Biden’s claim that the UAW “just” endorsed him is misleading. The UAW announced its endorsement of Biden on January 24, more than five months ago.

In other words, Biden attempted to dismiss the reported post-debate concerns of UAW president Shawn Fain by suggesting that Fain’s union had recently decided to back him. However, the endorsement actually came long before the debate and the resulting crisis of confidence among some of Biden’s pre-debate supporters.

The War in Afghanistan

Biden spoke about urging Israeli leaders not to “occupy anywhere” but to focus on targeting the Hamas terrorists who attacked their country, aiming to avoid the mistakes the US made after September 11, 2001. Biden said, “You may recall, I still get criticized for it, but I was totally opposed to the occupation and trying to unite Afghanistan. Once we got bin Laden in 2011, we should’ve moved on, because no one’s ever going to unite that country.”

**Facts First:** Biden’s claim that he was “totally opposed to the occupation” of Afghanistan is misleading. In the early years of the war, Biden, then a US senator for Delaware, was a strong supporter of a sustained US military presence in Afghanistan and extensive nation-building efforts. He explicitly rejected the idea of a narrow military mission focused solely on targeting terrorists. 
Although Biden eventually became a sharp internal critic of the war as Vice President beginning in 2009 and opposed President Obama’s troop surge, he has inaccurately suggested that he always opposed the US military presence and nation-building efforts in Afghanistan.

In an October 2001 Senate speech, Biden outlined a comprehensive agenda for Afghanistan’s long-term solution, including the restoration of women’s rights, building infrastructure, creating secular schools, and establishing a crop substitution program for narcotics. He warned against focusing solely on capturing bin Laden and the Taliban.
In a February 2002 speech, Biden emphasized the need for a robust security force in Afghanistan to transition to a stable government. He stressed that the US must ensure the hope of a liberated Afghanistan does not vanish due to a fear of nation-building or lack of commitment.
At a February 2003 Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting, Biden stated that avoiding nation-building would lead to chaos, producing warlords, drug traffickers, and terrorists, emphasizing that the alternative to nation-building was unacceptable.