Biden can be seen wandering away from Nancy Pelosi with a look on his face that many described as confused, or that looked like no one wanted to talk to him.
President Joe Biden hosted his former boss, President Barack Obama, at the White House on Tuesday, and at the reception after the event celebrating the 12th anniversary of the Obamacare legislation, Biden looked lost. He can be seen wandering away from Nancy Pelosi with a look on his face that many described as confused, or that looked like no one wanted to talk to him.
After many tweeted about the moment, and how sad it was to see the leader of the free world in apparent decline, shunned by his colleagues who appeared to not want to talk to him, fact-checkers swooped in to let everyone know that Biden wasn't lost, he was just looking for Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior.
https://rumble.com/embed/vxkxom/?pub=2n05b
Reuters, which didn't note why Biden was looking for Haaland, simply said that "social media users circulated a seconds-long clip of the event to claim 'literally no one wanted to talk to' President Joe Biden. The scene, however, is missing context: uncropped footage shows he was looking for secretary of the interior Deb Haaland."
"The 13-second clip on social media shows Biden walking away from the group standing behind him when he signed the executive order," Reuters claimed, "including Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi."
Reuters shared a longer video of the event, showing that after wandering away from the table where Biden signed the bill, and looking lost for a little bit, he did approach Haaland.
Tucker Carlson aired the clip, saying that Biden is "now the most unpopular person in virtually any room he enters."
"Biden wandered off looking vacant," Carlson said, noting that everyone was more interested in talking to Obama than Biden. Carlson lamented how discouraging and sad it was to see Biden ignored by Obama, Harris, and others as he, the President of the United States, stood idly by, seeming out-of-place.
Tucker Carlson says that Obama "can tell the world in the clearest possible terms that he has no respect for Joe Biden, because at this point nobody has respect for Joe Biden." pic.twitter.com/DwEEnCWhoW
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial)
This is not the first time Reuters has "fact-checked" public perceptions of the President's behavior. In addition to him looking lost on Tuesday, in August 2021, Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, an he appeared to fall asleep in that meeting. Reuters reported that "seconds later, longer footage shows that Biden responds to Bennett."
Did Biden fall asleep during COP26 opening speeches? pic.twitter.com/xapkwryksE
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial)
Many fact-checkers have gone beyond checking facts, to checking perceptions as well. The claim that "Biden looked lost" could be more readily classified as an opinion, but for Reuters, as well as other fact-checkers, attempting to reinforce the perception that the 79 year old Biden is in peak mental performance is fundamental to their mission.
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