Biden used notecards with names, photos of prominent Dems such as Hillary Clinton at public events

Question

Unearthed note cards from the Biden era show the administration detailed the names and photos of high-profile Democrats, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as lesser-known individuals for then-President Joe Biden to ostensibly reference during live events, documents obtained by Fox News Digital show. 

Five different “palm cards,” which are hand-sized note cards frequently used by politicians for quick reminders or talking points during public events, especially while on the campaign trail, were uncovered amid an investigation of National Archive documents related to the Biden administration’s use of an autopen, and obtained by Fox News Digital.  

Four of the five cards obtained by Fox Digital are stamped with a disclaimer reading, “PRESIDENT HAS SEEN,” while a fifth card detailing an ABC News reporter’s question to Biden during a press conference did not include that stamp. 

It is unclear if Biden relied on each of the cards during the various public events.

Answer 1

Although it does seem odd at first that the vast majority of the information about this comes from Fox News, it is confirmed to be true to some extent. When Biden's former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the notecards, she said, "It is entirely normal for a president to be briefed on reporters who will be asking questions at a press conference, and issues we expect they might ask about. We do not have specific questions in advance, that's not something that we do..." This clip of an interview was posted on CNN's official YouTube page and is referenced in talks about the notecards. Sadly however, I could not find the raw footage of this interview.
I was able to find the original Fox News article on these incidents which was the main source of information for articles posted by outlets such as the New York Post and KOMO News. It's important to remember, however, that these news outlets are considered to be more conservative leaning, so some aspects of these articles may be dramatized.
I find it incredibly odd that (with the soul exception of CNN), no moderate or democratic leaning news source has posted anything about this. If it weren't for the interview with Karine Jean-Pierre, I would have absolutely thought this was false, but due to her confirmation of the cards existence, it does seem to be true to the extent of interview questions. Most of what has been written on the subject does seem to be exaggerated to imply a lack of cognitive function from the former president. Although this topic is still heavily debated to this day, Biden's physician determined a cognitive test to be unnecessary during his time as president.

(Side Note): Although Karine Jean-Pierre was previously in a White House elected position, she does not currently have a publicly available email, so sadly I cannot ask her to comment further to answer your other references to notecards with information for democratic representatives.

Karine Jean-Pierre's Confirmation (CNN): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOusB4FVjU 

Original Article from Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-unearthed-biden-note-cards-reveal-he-had-bios-photo-reminders-hillary-clinton-schumer 

Comments

I appreciate the citing of sources from both left and right leaning news sources on this topic. I also like the elaborating on everything you provide, leaving little room for confusion or questioning if this is a valid statement while also leaving room open for discussion and further investigation.

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This was a great fact check of the original claim! I thought it was very insightful to talk about how the majority of the information was coming from an outlet like Fox News, which is known to lean mostly right. I think this is important to consider when consuming news stories, especially surrounding political figures. I also thought it was great that you thought about sending Katherine Jean-Pierre an email for further details to add to the notecard statement from CNN. Although I also think it's interesting to note that the other news source reporting on this was CNN, which is known to lean left. I wonder why this is the case, and it would be interesting to know if other non-profit news sources have reported on this claim. Overall, great job!

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I liked how you used information from both sides of the political isle to come to a conclusion on this claim (using both Fox News/CNN) Along with this I agree that both are biased and hard sources to pin down. Despite not being able to get a primary or un biased source I appreciate your work into finding the truth. I also like how you found where the original commenter got their information from. I personally do not think Fox News is generally a good source but in this case I think you did a great job using it to portray how the original claim was factual and correct!

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Your fact-check’s use of Jean-Pierre’s CNN clip is strong, confirming Biden’s notecards, but the heavy reliance on Fox News and conservative outlets like the New York Post feels biased. Why haven’t neutral sources like NPR covered this? Notecards seem like standard press prep, not a cognitive issue as implied.

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Please read the post in full.

Answer 2

Most of the information that I have collected comes from Fox News, which is very widely known for having conservative political views. Interestingly, no left-leaning news sources have reported on this controversy, not counting CNN. But yes, this claim is true, but up to a certain point. It’s very common for politicians to use these palm cards for reminders, talking points, or, in this case, to allow them to address figures and reporters correctly to avoid any possibility of embarrassing themselves. A former Biden staffer told Fox Digital Tuesday that listing important figures along with their bios is “standard operating procedure for briefing materials.” Biden has been photographed with palm cards at events, containing a name, picture, occupation, and in some cases, anticipated questions or talking points. However, according to CNN, conservative media portray Biden’s palm cards as “crib sheets” or “cheat notes.” This is a pressing matter because it adds fuel to the fire of concern for the former president’s mental sharpness. In 2024, Axios News reported that his use of notecards in closed-door fundraisers spooked the donors due to the amount of reliance on them. Most of the content from the articles suggests that Biden heavily relies on the cards in order to address some of his closest allies; therefore, he was not fit to run the White House due to his cognitive function.

Fox News article: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-unearthed-biden-note-cards-reveal-he-had-bios-photo-reminders-hillary-clinton-schumer

CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/27/politics/biden-note-card-white-house-press-conference

Axios News article: https://www.axios.com/2024/02/23/biden-notecards-fundraisers-donors-age

The National News Desk article: https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/joe-biden-white-house-created-palm-cards-for-hillary-clinton-chuck-schumer-and-others-auto-pen-denzel-washington

Answer 3

The claim that “Biden used notecards with names, and photos of prominent Dems such as Hillary Clinton at public events” is not entirely untrue. It has been noted on several accounts that Presidents from all political parties have all used notes when giving speeches. The claim that former President Joe Biden was “caught” using note cards while giving a speech, is partially untrue “The note card captured by photojournalists on Wednesday shows a head shot of a reporter on whom Biden would call, a pronunciation guide for her name, and most controversially, seems to say what she would ask.” (Collinson) Many people were outraged or angry that Biden had prompted potential questions that reporters might ask, even though generally the cards are used to help guide them through events. Many right-wing media groups used this as a chance to attack Biden specifically because of his older age. 

Many other presidential candidates also used note cards at other public events “Most recent presidents — including Trump, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — have carried crib notes, or used teleprompters, to help guide them through various public events and meetings.” (Nichols) As seen here there is clearly nothing wrong with any president using cue cards during events but it seems that Biden was recently the one president that got the most backlash for using them. Which is due to his age compared to the others. Additionally former President Biden also used his note cards for various other things other than question prompts and talking points, “Biden's notecards are partly the result of a detail-oriented staff that wants to ensure his fundraisers are successful.” (Nichols)

It seems to be that public doesn't have much of an issue of them using the note cards they are more concerned with the age of former president Biden, “At a recent closed-door fundraiser, President Joe Biden had to rely on note cards prepped by his staff to provide donors with detailed answers on his policy….This, according to Axios, had some donors concerned: Is Biden's age showing again?” (Lee). However both fighting and from backlash due to their age and will ultimately be the oldest presidential candidate.

The secret of the presidential cue card | CNN Politics

Biden's reliance on notecards at fundraisers worries donors

https://www.businessinsider.com/history-us-presidents-using-note-cards-joe-biden-trump-age-2024-2