Did Joe Biden Fall Asleep During Maui Wild Fire Memorial Service? Take the Latest Political Rorschach Test
President Joe Biden had his head down for a moment while attending a memorial service for the victims of the Maui wildfire. Because he’s, well, Joe Biden, many have been quick to assume that he embarrassingly nodded off.
Biden is 80 years old and is the oldest person ever to serve as commander-in-chief. And there is a history of his apparent nodding off, like when he closed his eyes during a speech at a 2021 climate summit. That episode elicited a surprising amount of empathy from even conservative critics, but that was two years ago. We are on the eve of an election year, and Biden’s age is an issue — or at least, a partisan issue, depending on who you ask.
Conservative video influencer Tom Elliot spotted the clip and promoted it from his GrabienMedia Twitter account with a caption that flatly read, “Biden Appears to Fall Asleep During a Ceremony in Hawaii Honoring the Hundreds of Americans Killed by the Fires.”
And because we live in a time of great confirmation bias, with very little if no follow-up research, that narrative took off, especially in conservative circles where Republicans are known to pounce. Turns out…
But the PoliticsVideoChannel Twitter account quickly posted a longer video that shows Biden only bowing his head for 20 seconds. They added a message that read:
a video is spreading showing Joe Biden appearing to sleep while visiting wildfire survivors in Lahaina in Maui County, Hawaii.
This is FALSE.
the longer video shows Biden not sleeping.
Biden bowed his head for a brief few seconds.
FACTS MATTER!
The longer video shows Biden coughing, then bowing his head for about 20 seconds, then raising it as the crowd cheers. If you watch the clip that starts without the cough, it sure looks like he’s coughing, but it doesn’t read quite the same way in a larger context.
Doesn’t matter, really. If you think Biden is an old doddering fool that is prime for pasture, you will see him in the least charitable way, even if it’s false. If you think he’s doing just fine, you will defend him.
It’s just the latest example of the Political Rorschach Test Era™ in which we live.
Watch above via @PoliticsVideoChannel.
