A video clip from a fundraiser for President Joe Biden went viral and created a domino effect of reactions, with some notably from the White House.
The Democratic fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday, where late-night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Biden and former president Barack Obama, ended with a moment characterized as another example of the president needing assistance exiting the stage. The video clip of Obama seeming to reach for Biden’s arm and guide his former vice president toward the stage exit went viral and a New York Post report on the scene earned a rebuke from the White House.
“Fresh off being fact checked by at least 6 mainstream news organizations for lying about President Biden with cheap fakes, Rupert Murdoch’s sad little super pac, the New York Post, is back to disrespecting it’s readers and itself once again by pretending the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds is somehow wrong. Their ethical standards could deal with a little unfreezing,” Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement to Mediaite.
He posted a similar message on X and continued to blast the coverage of the moment.
By pretending the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds is somehow wrong, all they’re really admitting is – once again – is they can’t take on the leadership that’s fueling the strongest economic growth in the world & bringing violent crime to a 50 year low.
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) June 16, 2024
Look who all got the same cheap fake memo:
TASS: “Obama leads frozen Biden off stage — Republican Party”
New York Post: “Biden appears to freeze up, has to be led off stage by Obama”
Daily Mail: “Biden FREEZES at star-studded fundraiser before Obama comes to rescue”
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) June 17, 2024
The reactions poured in from both sides, with criticism of Biden’s geriatric behavior and meltdowns from his supporters and media outlets calling out the right for misrepresenting what happened on stage.
“Biden freezes before Obama grabs his arm and leads him off stage. Yikes!” the RNC Research account on X wrote while British journalist Piers Morgan called it “So embarrassing.”
The response from Bates prompted a counterpunch from Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro.
I’m sorry you work for a walking corpse.
The reason the clip of Obama guiding your boss off the stage went viral is because Obama guided your boss off the stage like a nurse at an old age home. https://t.co/uXGNvHleax
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 17, 2024
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called out the “perception of weak leadership” presented by Biden and slammed the Democratic Party for playing along with “the Emperor’s New Clothes in real life.”
“I have been criticized by some for sharing these @POTUS Biden videos which appear almost every day. I have read numerous articles which somehow suggest that the camera angle, the duration of the clip or some form of right wing manipulation explains Biden’s behavior on camera,” he wrote on X.
I have been criticized by some for sharing these @POTUS Biden videos which appear almost every day. I have read numerous articles which somehow suggest that the camera angle, the duration of the clip or some form of right wing manipulation explains Biden’s behavior on camera.… https://t.co/n9aAXQGqdZ
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) June 16, 2024
“Some people are old at 81 and others are sharp, vigorous, and impressive. Compare Warren Buffett at 93 and Biden at 81. Biden is an old 81 who can’t find his way off a stage or stay present and focused at a G7 conference,” Ackman added. “Is that who should be the leader of the free world for the next five years?”