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Many videos are circulating of President Joe Biden supposedly displaying his failing mental faculties. What is real, false, or exaggerated?
Conservative commentators have been highlighting clips of Biden pausing his speech, freezing, and stuttering as evidence that he’s unfit for office. The White House has pushed back, calling many of the videos “cheap fakes” that were “done in bad faith.”
As always, there’s more nuance than these black-and-white claims suggest. Here’s a breakdown of the videos and possible misinformation surrounding them:
What are 'Cheap Fakes'?
"A cheap fake is altered media that has been changed through conventional and affordable technology," according to the Media Manipulation Casebook. "Social media examples of cheap fake techniques include photoshopping (including face swapping), lookalikes, as well as speeding and slowing video."
A researcher for the Heritage Foundation (Lean Right) said the White House's use of the term "cheap fakes" to describe the videos is an effort to "to push a new term underneath the school of misinformation to try and pressure social media companies to take action on videos of this nature."
Did Biden “Wander Off” at the G7 Conference?
As Biden and other world leaders posed for a photo at the G7 Conference in Italy on June 13, Biden appeared to walk away from the group and talk to someone off-camera.
Some sources, including the New York Post (Lean Right bias) and Forbes (Center), suggested that Biden wandered off and had to be guided back to the group.
MSNBC (Left) reported that the New York Post and others claimed the video showed “Biden wandering off in a daze during the G7 summit in Italy. In reality, Biden was congratulating a skydiver who had just landed but was not visible in the frame.”
Everyone freaking out about this Biden clip at G7.
— USA State Of Mind (@usastateofmind) June 14, 2024
Here is the full video. pic.twitter.com/RhH9aFFfZS
Biden at Fundraiser With Obama
At the end of a June 15 fundraiser with former President Barack Obama, Biden stood still and looked out into the crowd for about seven seconds before Obama took his arm and the two walked off stage.
MSNBC said right-wing news sources ran with “a deceptively edited video claiming to show Biden frozen onstage at a fundraiser. The full video shows this did not happen.”
The New York Post said Biden “appeared to freeze up on stage and had to be led off,” and that “Biden’s gaze seemed to become fixed on the crowd for a full 10 seconds.”
The AP (Lean Left) said Biden “paused amid cheers and applause,” and that the video “is the most recent in a series of clips taken at public events, some of them edited, that are being used to suggest Biden is mentally and physically unfit for office.”
Joe Biden appears to freeze at his LA fundraiser. Has to be led off stage by Obama. pic.twitter.com/iUKALvdqPD
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 16, 2024
Another clip from the same fundraiser shows Biden stumbling over his words — as he often has in the past, due to a widely-reported lifelong speech impediment. The video circulating on Twitter appears to cut off before Biden finishes his sentence. Read the White House transcript, and watch the video:
YIKES: Watch Joe Biden incoherently babble at his Hollywood fundraiser as Obama looks on in SHOCK.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 17, 2024
This is so bad…
pic.twitter.com/W7WsF74zvM
Biden’s Gaffe When Discussing Immigration Order
A clip of Biden stumbling over his words when announcing an immigration executive order on June 18 went viral on X:
The President just short circuited. No, this is not a joke and yes, this video is 100% real.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) June 18, 2024
Joe Biden is mentally unfit for office.
It’s incredible/insane that some Democrats are still pretending that this is totally normal.pic.twitter.com/mpyYAmrK7B
It’s unclear what exactly Biden was trying to say. It seems he might have been trying to make a joke, but his words are indecipherable.
Watch the full video here from C-SPAN. The clip in question begins around the 10:45 mark.
C-SPAN transcribes many of its videos, but this one lacked a transcription at the time of this writing.
Biden at Juneteenth Event
Fox News (Right bias) posted a video of Biden and others observing a Juneteenth celebration, saying Biden appeared to freeze:
‘NO ONE’S HOME’: President Biden appears to freeze as Vice President Harris and others dance next to him at a Juneteenth event. https://t.co/k0WAJilZ7l pic.twitter.com/cFMRVXDd3y
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 11, 2024
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back, saying, “The President stood there listening to the music and he didn’t dance. Excuse me, I did not know not dancing was a health issue.”
Biden at D-Day Ceremony
@RNCResearch, a Republican-controlled Twitter account, posted a 13-second clip of Biden at a D-Day ceremony on June 6:
Awkward pic.twitter.com/3KNLco85hj
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 6, 2024
Some highlighted the full video and claimed it was shortened to frame Biden as incoherent:
Here’s the actual clip of Joe Biden taking his seat at the D-Day ceremony. He pauses for a bit before taking the seat — not an imaginary chair from what I can see. pic.twitter.com/uJo5Ezb8W6
— Ted Johnson (@tedstew) June 6, 2024
Why the Divide?
Skeptics of Biden are moving to justify concerns about his age. Supporters think Biden’s opponents are moving to distract from former President Donald Trump's indictments and other controversies.
Did we miss anything? Email us.
Henry A. Brechter is AllSides’ Editor-in-Chief. He has a Center bias.
Reviewed and edited by Clare Ashcraft, Bridging and Bias Assistant (Center bias), Malayna J. Bizier, News Assistant (Right bias), and Joseph Ratliff, Content Designer and News Editor (Lean Left bias).