White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre attempted to deflect concerns Monday about President Joe Biden wandering off at the G7 Summit as a “cheap fake” orchestrated by Republicans.
A video circulated Thursday of Biden wandering away from world leaders during the summit, leading Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to rein him back in. Many voters and officials on both sides of the aisle continue to share concerns about the 81-year-old president’s age and mental capacity to serve a second term.
The press secretary claimed the “cheap fake” video had been fact-checked by conservatives as Newsmax White House correspondent James Rosen addressed the concerns.
“I mean look, as I said that was a cheap fake. That was definitely a cheap fake,” the press secretary said. “It was. It was widely fact-checked. That video was widely fact-checked, including by conservative media on what happened, what occurred. The president walked over to give a thumbs up to divers who had just landed right in front of him and if you run that tape a little bit longer, you would see what was happening, what the president was actually doing and it is a cheap fake.”
“So this is much ado about nothing, and he’s totally normal?” Rosen pressed.
KJP attempts to spin Biden wandering off at G7 Summit as Republican “cheap fakes” pic.twitter.com/xv4qGIHce7
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 17, 2024
“What I’m saying is, this is a president — look, let’s step back for a second. Instead of, and I said this moments ago, instead of Republicans focusing on the president’s performance in office and what he’s actually been able to accomplish with his actual record, they do these cheap fakes. They are cheap fakes and you’re asking about Meloni, you’re asking me about what happened,” she replied. (RELATED: ‘Senile’: Poll Reveals The First Things That Come To Americans’ Minds When They Think Of Joe Biden)
Rosen then asked about Biden standing still as music played during a Juneteenth concert, leading to much pushback from Jean-Pierre.
“Okay, let’s talk about Juneteenth. The president stood there listening to the music and he didn’t dance. Excuse me, I did not know not dancing was a mental — was a health issue. That is a weird thing to actually flag when you look at the people who are around him, if you look at the extended video of the people who were around him, they were not — there were some folks who were not dancing either, and that has been fact-checked. I mean, just because you’re standing up listening to music and not dancing, that is not a health issue. That is just not a health issue.”
“So the majorities of American voters who are telling pollsters repeatedly for years now that they have serious concerns about this president’s cognitive fitness are being misled by cheap fake videos. Is that what you’re telling us?” Rosen asked.
“I’m saying that there have been in recent weeks, there have been cheap fake videos that have been fact checked. There’ve been fact check[s] by conservative media as well to say that these videos are false. They’re purposefully being altered,” she said.
“So he’s fine?” Rosen continued.
“Look, the president has done more in his three-and-a-half years as president than most modern day presidents and what he’s been able to deliver,” she argued. “He’s able to do that because he knows what he’s doing, he knows how to deliver for the American people.”
Many polls have found a majority of voters believe Biden is too old and does not have the mental capacity to serve a second term. A Wall Street Journal survey found 36% of voters believe Biden is “mentally up for the job” compared to 49% who said the same of former President Donald Trump. A CBS News/YouGov poll found 26% of voters believe Biden has the “mental and cognitive health to serve,” while 43% said the same for the former president.
A Wall Street Journal article published June 4 detailed the president’s mental decline behind closed doors, citing his frequent forgetfulness during meetings with U.S. leaders.
