Thread by @jimstinson

THREAD. Ron Klain @WHCOS tells some remarkable lies. On @Lawrence (a gullible guy) Monday night, Klain said "no president ... since John F. Kennedy ... (has held on to) Senate seats and potentially even (went) up one Senate seat." This is untrue; @JonKarl also said this. (1)

The best MIDTERM performance on the Senate side by a party holding the White House since 1960 was:

1) 1962. Kennedy. Dems pick up 4 seats despite midterm.
2) 2002. Bush. Despite recession, GOP picks up 2 seats and control of Senate.

So .. 2022 yet, @MSNBC? No. (2)

2a) Tied for second place is Trump's 2018 midterm. The @NRSC knocked off four Democratic Senate incumbents. The Dems knocked off 2 Republican senators. In the end, the GOP Senate majority *gained* 2 seats in an otherwise terrible midterm. (3)

So two Republicans presidents since JFK (Bush 2 and Trump) have had better midterms than @JoeBiden could possibly have in the Senate elections. At best, Dems could pick up 1. But that's not even unusual since 1962. (4)

In 1970, Richard Nixon aggressively went after Sen. Al Gore Sr. (D) and the GOP also won Maryland. The GOP beat three Dem incumbents while Nixon was president. Net pickup for GOP: +1. People forget this one.

That's the fourth best Senate midterm for a White House party. (5)

Then there's 1998. Biden and Dems in 2022 could tie 1998 depending on who wins Georgia. In '98, the Republicans held the majority. A troubled Bill Clinton (D) held the White House.

Neither party won any new seats. Net gain: zero. It was seen as defeat for GOP. (6)

There is just no way for Joe Biden, Ron Klain (who @lawrence said was the most successful @WHCOS since JFK -- lol) and the Dems to spin the Senate wins. They picked up one at best. Bush 2 and Trump did better. (7)

The @MSNBC segment on @Lawrence. Joe Biden is reportedly regularly briefed by historians like @BeschlossDC and @jmeacham. It's odd Klain told this whopper about JFK's midterm success, especially as Clinton had a successful midterm in '98. (8)

msnbc.com/the-last-word/…

Fox News' @briansflood called out Jon Karl in August for the claim. The GOP faced a bad Senate map in 2022. So the White House was telling people about the JFK scenario. But the details are important. (9)

foxnews.com/video/63112578…

Flood wrote this devastating lede: "ABC News Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl wrongly told viewers on Sunday that John F. Kennedy was the last first-term president to pick up Senate seats when it actually happened as recently as the last midterms."

The LAST midterm. (10)

Finally, I submit my tweets and work to @ddale8 and @GlennKesslerWP ... Maybe run Klain's remark through the Pinocchio gauntlet. Because the WH and DNC spin will be intense this month. (11)

A lot of fact checking of late on Donald Trump and GOP from @ddale8. No check on Ron Klain, the COS of Biden. You know, Dale, Biden is the president and the incumbent administration. Don't ignore their lies and errors. #Midterms2022 (12)