Joe Biden told supporters in Pennsylvania on Saturday that he misses up-close campaigning but doesn't want events to become "super-spreaders."(Oct. 24) AP Domestic
The claim: As vice president, Joe Biden called for the retraining of inanimate cattle guards
With the election now days away, Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s opponents are sharing an old story about an alleged gaffe, pushing the narrative that Biden is out of touch with life in rural parts of the U.S.
According to a 2014 Facebook post that had a recent viral resurgence, /then-President Barack Obama was reading a report that mentioned there were more than 100,000 cattle guards in Colorado. According to the story, Obama — frustrated with ranchers’ protests about proposed grazing policy changes — ordered half the cattle guards fired. Then-Vice President Biden supposedly stepped in to suggest the cattle guards instead be given six months of retraining.
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While “cattle guard” might sound like a typical job for someone on a ranch, it’s more of a "what" than a “who.” Cattle guards are grids placed at fence openings and used to keep cattle and livestock from wandering while still allowing humans and cars to pass through. Depending on the geographical region and the placement, cattle guards might also be called “auto gates,” “car gates” or “Texas gates” according to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Encyclopedia of the Great Plains.
“YA GOTTA LAUGH TO KEEP FROM CRYING,” said the post, shared by Brad Russell, who did not return a request for comment. “These two are morons and an embarrassment to the USA!”
The story about Obama and Biden’s supposed gaffe has picked up renewed interest on social media during the 2020 election season, with the 2014 retelling racking up more than 421,000 Facebook shares and counting.
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A recycled joke
The cattle guard story is “a long-running political joke (that) has been told in various forms,” as Snopes pointed out.
The internet tale traces back to 1995, with President Bill Clinton as the butt of the joke. When it first made rounds, the story was attributed to either a 1994 copy of the Newcastle Reporter or a 1995 issue of New Mexico Stockman Magazine, according to Snopes.
David Emery, an expert in internet folklore and now an editor at Snopes, reported references to the cattle guard story in Winfred Blevins’ 2001 “Dictionary of the American West,” according to a 2010 Florida Times-Union article. Some Snopes readers recalled hearing the anecdote as early as the 1950s or 1960s.
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Even when the story was updated for Obama’s presidency, some early 2010s versions contained anachronistic references to Clinton-era officials, Snopes reported.
There has also been a version aimed at former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, according to Snopes, as well as one targeting former Australia Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, according to Australian blog Hoax-Slayer. Minor details change from version to version, but each telling typically follows the same narrative and ends on a note of incredulity that “these guys” are running the country.
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Our rating: False
The claim that Biden called for inanimate cattle guards to be retrained is FALSE, based on our research. The narrative has circulated online for decades — involving various politicians through the years — long before Biden’s vice presidency.
Our fact-check sources:
- Brad Russell, June 8, 2014, Facebook post
- Snopes, Sept. 20, 2000, Did a Government Official Order the Firing of Cattle Guards?
- The Florida Times-Union, Dec. 20, 2010, Fact Check: Obama calls for firing of 50,000 inanimate cattle guards
- Hoax-Slayer, July 2, 2010, Fire the Cattle Guards’ Hoax
- Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, accessed Oct. 28,// Cattle Guards
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The Link LonkOctober 29, 2020 at 03:14AM
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Fact check: Decades-old joke about cattle guards ropes in Biden, Obama - USA TODAY
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Joke
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