WATCH: CNN Fact-Checker Daniel Dale Says Biden Did NOT ‘Lie’ About Plan Republicans Screamed ‘LIAR!’ About

CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale said President Joe Biden “is not lying” about the plan that Florida Sen. Rick Scott and other Republicans keep insisting he’s lying about — including the ones who shouted “LIAR!” at the State of the Union speech.

On Friday morning’s edition of CNN Newsroom, co-anchors Erica Hill and Jim Sciutto hosted Dale to fact-check Scott, who authored the proposal at the heart of the explosive moment Republicans heckled Biden at the State of the Union, and others who claim the president “lied” when he said “some Republicans, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I’m not saying it’s a majority.”

While Dale suggested additional context that Biden could have added had he chosen to do so, he repeatedly stressed that Biden did not lie in his comments at the SOTU:

DANIEL DALE: To Senator Scott’s proposal, I think President Biden could be clearer that this sunset proposal proposed that sunset all federal laws, presumably including Medicare and Social Security in every five years, is not a real part of this debt ceiling discussions. And he could be clearer that this proposal got a very rough ride from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who dismissed it last year and dismissed it again this week, saying “that’s Rick Scott’s plan, it’s not our plan.”

On the other hand, guys, I mean, Rick Scott was a senior Republican. He ran the NRSC, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm. He was a member of McConnell’s leadership team last year, and he did introduce this proposal. So when he keeps saying it’s a lie, no, it’s not, Biden keeps reading from it. And I think it is fair for Biden to mention that it exists.

ERICA HILL: And to your point, we are hearing this week, of course, from Rick Scott, who’s been pushing back on that. What more is what more is he saying?

DANIEL DALE: Well, Senator, so Senator Scott is not only saying that that Biden is lying about his own plan — again, Biden isn’t, that sunset thing is real — but he is trying to turn the tables by claiming that Biden himself cut $280 billion from Medicare in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

And that is just not true at all. That’s a claim that was roundly, widely debunked by CNN and a bunch of other outlets when Scott and his NRSC made it last year. What the Inflation Reduction Act actually does is save the government and seniors money by reducing the amount of money that the government has to pay to pharmaceutical companies for prescription drugs. So that is pure savings. It is not a benefit cut.

And I spoke to experts about this again this week. A Vanderbilt University professor named Stacey Ducetcina said that framing this as a cut to benefits is, quote, nonsense. Again, she’s a Vanderbilt professor, another expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Juliette Cubanski, told me that the Congressional Budget Office said that they, excuse me, prescription drug provisions in the law will reduce the federal deficit by 237 billion. This is savings to the federal government and Medicare from lowering what Medicare pays for prescription drugs. This is not the same thing as a $237 billion cut to Medicare. So debunked last year and debunked again this year.

JIM SCIUTTO: Listen, these are important policy debates. They’re real debates. It’d be nice to have them without outright lies, but that’s where we are. Daniel Dale, thanks so much.

DANIEL DALE: Thank you.

ERICA HILL: Also, politics. Good luck.

Scott’s idea has been supported by other Republicans, including the party chair. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin suggested sunsetting the plans even more frequently. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel endorsed Scott’s entire plan, as did Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz.

Watch above via CNN This Morning.