While making an appearance this week with John Fetterman in Pennsylvania, Biden has been noticeably absent from the side of other party candidates, some of whom are fighting on the tightest of margins.

So it was with some surprise that when confronted by a reporter this week the president quickly remonstrated his reported absences.

The Claim

A clip of Joe Biden, posted on Twitter on October 21, 2022, shows the president telling a reporter that he had 15 Democratic candidates campaigning with him.

The Facts

The president’s absence from many midterm campaign events has been well-documented, with some speculation that Democratic nominees want to distance themselves from his unenviable polling numbers, among other reasons.

So Biden’s bold assertion that he has made 15 campaigning events so far, with more in the pipeline, was predictably met with some skepticism.

Newsweek has looked through a list of his engagements so far and found the claim unconvincing and heavily caveated.

As mentioned above, Biden appeared in Pennsylvania in support of John Fetterman this week. He has also recently been on the campaign trail in Oregon for Democratic candidate for governor Tina Kotek, in Colorado for senator Michael Bennet, and in California for Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Rep. Karen Bass.

An appearance in Rockville, Maryland, in August 2022, saw the president alongside another four Democrats defending or pitching for office: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and Democratic nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, Wes Moore and Aruna Miller.

He is also scheduled to appear alongside Charlie Crist, on November 1, 2022, in Florida.

In response to a Newsweek comment request, the White House provided another list of engagements between August 30, 2022, and October 20, 2022, divided into “official” and “political” events.

Events labeled official, it said, were not necessarily political even if Democratic candidates attended. This, it said, included one visit to California on October 13, 2022, for an “infrastructure event in Los Angeles” with Karen Bass. Although it was labeled “official,” during a speech Biden praised Bass saying “You’re the best” and calling her “a real leader.”

The White House also designated the aforementioned visit to Colorado for senator Michael Bennet as official.

Biden has attended a number of Democratic fundraising events recently as well. In May he appeared in Potomac, Maryland, for a fundraiser at the home of Rep David Trone, who will be running for re-election to represent the state’s 6th Congressional District.

In October, the president was also at the house of James Murdoch for another fundraising event, which Chuck Schumer (who is running for reelection to the senate to represent New York) also attended.

The White House also highlighted a DCCC fundraiser in Los Angeles, attended by six Representatives and one congressional candidate. If all of these were counted with the Democrats Biden has been seen alongside recently, the president would have easily cleared the 15 people he quoted.

However, generally speaking, fundraisers aren’t what most people would probably consider public campaigning. They are held for Democratic party members, leaders and supporters, with ticket prices reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It’s also not clear whether Biden would have spoken about any individual election campaign at these events. In any case, counting them as a campaign appearance seems a stretch, though perhaps not rising to the level of “false.”

The president did attend a string of other public events between June and September, also featuring Democratic candidates who, if counted toward the total, would surpass Biden’s estimate by a much wider margin.

Although not necessarily an exhaustive list, from June to September, Biden has appeared with or attended events with the following Democrats seeking or defending office in the November midterms: Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District Representative Robin Kelly, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Massachusetts State Representatives Sean Garballey, Patricia Haddad & Ronald Mariano, Wisconsin governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District Representative Gwen Moore.

These appearances weren’t in direct support of these candidates, however, even if the president sang their praises. To suggest these were campaign events would be stretching the truth as well, even if it extends the list well beyond 15 people.

There is of course an element of subjectivity (or plausible deniability) here; the president could still claim that one of these events was indeed to support a candidate (and could have boosted their polling), even if the tone or purpose of the meeting did not appear to be.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates told Newsweek: “The President has been traveling the country with Democratic officials speaking about the stark choice Americans face.

“Congressional Republicans want to attack Medicare and Social Security, pass a national abortion ban, and raise energy and health care costs by repealing the Inflation Reduction Act.

“By contrast, President Biden and Democrats in Congress are highlighting how they’ve acted to lower the biggest costs families face, reduced gas prices, and are bringing manufacturing and jobs roaring back to America.”

The Ruling

Needs Context.

Newsweek found Joe Biden appeared or will appear alongside at least nine Democratic candidates at clear campaigning events. Other joint appearances need some context, however.

The White House has shared with Newsweek a full list of public events attended by the president along with Democratic nominees, though it can be argued that some of those do not fall under the stricter definition of “campaigning.”

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team