- author, Sam Cabral
- role, BBC News, Washington
The White House accused “right-wing critics” of arbitrarily editing the video in a “misinformation” campaign to cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s mental state.
In the most recent incident, Biden’s opponents allege that Biden became so disruptive at a weekend fundraiser that President Barack Obama had to escort him off the stage.
The White House also released separate footage showing Biden pausing to receive applause.
As the race for the White House heats up, the mental capacities of both Biden, 81, and his rival Donald Trump, 78, have come under scrutiny.
Image source, Getty Images
But poll after poll shows Biden’s age and abilities are attracting much more scrutiny from voters.
“This news tells us everything we need to know about how desperate Republicans are,” spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a regular press conference on Monday.
“These manipulated videos are [are] “It was done with malice”
The White House spokesman was responding to a question about a gala party Biden hosted in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Appearances at the event included George Clooney, Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts and late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel.
Conservative media shared footage of Biden onstage and Obama grabbing his arm as the pair walked off.
The New York Post reported that Biden “appeared frozen” at the end of the event and “had to be escorted off the stage” by Obama.
Trump shared the video on his platform, Truth Social, commenting: “Do we really want this guy for president?”
But the president’s supporters pointed to longer footage that showed Biden smiling and receiving applause from the crowd.
Jean-Pierre said the incident shows that “there is a relationship between Presidents Obama and Biden. They are friends and they are like family to each other.”
The White House spokesman also criticized the Washington Post for recently publishing a different video of Biden.
The paper reported last week that the president “began to stray during a skydiving demonstration” in Italy on Thursday and that other G7 leaders “needed to refocus him.”
But British Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the Telegraph that the US president was simply “very polite and respectful of everyone.” [the parachute jumpers] Afterwards, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that everyone would line up to shake hands.
A clip of the exchange, which was widely shared on X (formerly Twitter), is accompanied by a community note pointing out that the video has been cropped.
Meanwhile, Biden’s supporters have cited Trump’s viral video to argue that the Republican nominee lacks mental clarity.
Democrat Biden is preparing to face Trump in the first televised debate of the year later this month, with the White House election scheduled for November.
