But he raised the issue, and someone should call him on it.
I’m sure the WH has contacted him for an explanation.
If he was joking, then ask him, “why would you joke about that?”
The fact that he raised it might be a good reason to suspect his motive. It sounds to me like an audacious dare. Are we being psyched? He knows it’s a mighty hard thing to prove. (Look how hard it’s been to prove anything else about Barry’s so-called life story!)