Several social media posts are using a hot mic moment between Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Joe Biden to suggest the men were plotting to delay needed reforms and blame Republicans.
“BREAKING: Chuck Schumer caught on hot mic,” read text on a video shared Feb. 29 on Instagram. “I know I can blame REPUBLICANS AND MAGA, I’m a pro.”
The video shows Schumer and Biden talking at an airport. Subtitles claim Schumer asked Biden for a delay so he can “show one particular donor I’m delaying reform” before saying he can blame Republicans and Trump supporters. It’s not clear in the video what reform they are supposedly discussing.
It’s also unclear where the subtitled video originated, but we found multiple examples of people sharing it across social media.
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(Instagram screenshot)
The first sign the exchange may not be real is that the Instagram video’s audio is muddy and drowned out by engine noise.
A Wall Street Journal logo is visible in the video’s upper right-hand corner. We found that video in a Google search. It showed that Schumer and Biden were caught speaking on a hot mic at a New York airport in October 2022, but they were discussing the midterm elections. Schumer can clearly be heard telling Biden that Democrats were in danger of losing a seat, but it wasn’t clear which race he meant.
He also discussed the debate in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race, when then-candidate John Fetterman, still recovering from a stroke, squared off against Republican Mehmet Oz.
“It looks like the debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania, as of today, so that’s good,” Schumer said.
Schumer also said Democrats were “picking up steam” in Nevada and expressed concern about the Georgia U.S. Senate race, saying, “It’s hard to believe that they will go for Herschel Walker,” a former pro football star who was running for Senate as a Republican. Walker lost to incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Biden’s words were mostly inaudible, but at no point did Schumer ask for a delay in anything or say he would blame Republicans. News coverage of the hot mic moment also shows the two were discussing midterm elections, not delaying reforms.
The claim is False.