MSNBC host Chris Matthews suggested that Biden's struggles with speech mistakes on the campaign trail were more significant than just meaningless errors.

"A reporter would be fired for this stuff," Matthews said during a panel discussion on Hardball.

Noting a recent incident of Biden delivering a moving but false story of a military hero to a room full of supporters in New Hampshire, Matthews said, "A reporter would be fired for this stuff."

Other panelists suggested that Biden was not a journalist, and perhaps he told the story how he remembered it. Matthews rejected the idea that he should not be criticized based on that fact, saying Biden is "not Ernest Hemingway."

"You don't get to make it up based upon facts," he said. "You have to have the facts."

Biden's story told the tale of a Navy captain who retrieved the body of a fallen service member and is frequently shared by Biden as he campaigns for the presidency.

"This is the God’s truth,” Biden had said emotionally to the silent room. “My word as a Biden."

The story was largely debunked by the Washington Post, which noted that nearly every major detail in Biden's story was inaccurate.