President Biden, who, at 81, is a couple of decades younger than many of the veterans he honored at Thursday’s D-Day commemoration in Normandy, found his age and fitness in the spotlight as selectively edited clips of him circulated online, painting a picture of a physically and mentally challenged commander in chief.
The 80th anniversary of D-Day rapidly became the latest example of the rapid dissemination of politically harmful edited films, demonstrating how the politics of disinformation and conspiracy theories do not end at the water’s edge — and are certain to continue until November.
In edited films, Republican officials and former President Donald Trump’s associates repeatedly attempted to transform Biden’s Normandy visit into a highlight reel of senior moments and gaffes, attempting to portray the president as frail, insane, or out of his element. Trump, who turns 78 on Friday, has also constantly criticized Biden for his age and fitness, and he frequently distributes images of the president appearing feeble.
However, a review of video feeds from the events in Normandy, France, reveals that the selected footage were manipulated to create a particularly damning — and sometimes false — picture.
Such fraudulently altered movies, dubbed “cheap fakes” because they distort events by editing footage or audio or omitting context, have been a hallmark of Republican assaults against Biden. They are easier to create and distribute than artificial intelligence-generated video, and they may quickly go viral, allowing Biden’s opponents to transform seemingly benign events into assaults on his mental acuity and physical condition.
“Republicans have resorted to pathetically manipulating and distorting footage of President Biden because they can’t successfully attack his record of delivering results for the American people,” Mia Ehrenberg, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump’s team, defended the films without addressing the dishonest editing, claiming they demonstrated Biden was “too weak” to serve another presidential term.
“Leave it to the Washington Post to cast blame on Republicans for Joe Biden’s clear cognitive decline that was caught on video for the entire world to see,” she stated in a press release.
The recordings shot during Biden’s D-Day celebration were taken out of context rather than edited in a deceptive fashion. Here are a few examples that demonstrate how the phenomena works:
Biden and the ‘invisible’ Chair
The Republican National Committee and right-wing influencers shared a 12-second video showed Biden standing next to French President Emmanuel Macron, appearing to reach down with his hand and bend his knees awkwardly. The video ends suddenly with Biden in an awkward position, but those who shared it speculated that he was sitting “in an invisible chair,” and Donald Trump Jr. called it a “embarrassment” that demonstrated American weakness. The whole video shows Biden finally sitting down shortly after the program concluded, but he appeared to stop briefly while crouching, waiting for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s name to be called before taking his seat. A broad image of the stage revealed that others appeared to stoop, as did Biden, before fully sitting down.
Biden ‘drawn away’ by the First Lady
Another video circulated by Biden’s detractors shows the president being taken out from the D-Day celebration by first wife Jill Biden while it is still taking place. A Republican National Committee account on the social networking platform X, formerly known as Twitter, reported that Biden was being dragged out, while another user stated that Biden was being “pulled away” as Macron was still addressing veterans. In actuality, Biden, who came before Macron, had already visited the veterans and was departing the ceremony at the end to attend another planned memorial event. Joe and Jill Biden were holding hands and going side by side, with the president leading the way, shaking hands with veterans and saluting several on their way out before leaving the ceremony. The edited video shows Biden departing the ceremony without shaking hands or addressing veterans.
Biden is sleeping’
Some right-wing accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers also shared a six-second video of Biden appearing to close his eyes during the D-Day ceremony. A closer look reveals that Biden closed his eyes briefly while listening to a live translation of the D-Day ceremony; the translation device in his left ear was not visible in the abridged video. The president opened his eyes shortly after the modified video concluded, and there was no sign that he slept during some of the Normandy events. The charges were important since Trump was accused of frequently falling asleep in court during his hush money trial in New York because he closed his eyes when witnesses testified. It remains unclear if Trump truly fell asleep at some points throughout the trial — which concluded with him convicted on 34 felony charges of business fraud — and he and his staff have aggressively refuted the accusation.
