Fact Check: Does Video Show Biden Falling Asleep at Event with Maui Wildfire Survivors?
CORRECTION, Aug. 24, 2023: President Joe Biden flew to Hawaii from Nevada, where he is vacationing. An earlier version of this article indicated otherwise.
Social media went into a frenzy after a video appeared to show President Joe Biden falling asleep during an event in Hawaii.
But what really happened?
On Tuesday, X user Matt Wallace posted a video on the social media site, formerly called Twitter, that appeared to show the president falling asleep during an event on the island of Maui with survivors of the devastating wildfire.
Joe Biden just fell asleep in the middle of his meeting with victims of the Maui fires pic.twitter.com/YxDneHVuWL
— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) August 22, 2023
The video went viral and several conservatives, including Fox News personality Sean Hannity, posted the video spreading the idea that Biden fell asleep during the event.
Biden appears to fall asleep during a ceremony in Hawaii honoring the hundreds of Americans killed by the fires pic.twitter.com/epLCJ01B0J
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) August 22, 2023
The thing is, a second look at the footage tells another story, and it does not look as if Biden fell asleep after all.
Snopes, the fact-checking site with a decidedly pro-Biden bent, reported on the story, saying that the C-SPAN footage of the event, which is clearer than the footage on X, showed that Biden was simply bowing his head.
Now, granted, Snopes is notoriously left-leaning and always tries to run cover for leftist politicians. But the Washington Examiner, a more conservative website, also said that a look at the C-SPAN footage showed that Biden did not fall asleep.
But don’t take their word for it, have a look at the footage yourself. The key segment is about the 19:20 mark:
It seems more likely that Biden was just bowing his head or trying to shake off some jet lag after the flight from Nevada, where he has been vacationing.
Now while we may be able to exonerate Biden for this, it is important to point out what makes people think that Biden would fall asleep during this event.
This is not a case of people just being mean or petty toward Biden. Biden’s past actions mean that no one would be in the least surprised if Biden did indeed fall asleep at this event.
After all, Biden tried to avoid talking about the Hawaii wildfires for the longest time, and when he did finally visit the island, he acted in a callous and unsympathetic manner toward the residents.
Biden also has a history of being inattentive during solemn events like this, such as when he checked his watch when the caskets of 13 American servicemen and women killed during the Afghanistan pullout arrived in the U.S.
Remember that time Joe Biden looked at his watch when the caskets of 13 dead soldiers were being returned from his chaotic Afghanistan pullout?
Well now he just fell asleep during a ceremony in Hawaii honoring the hundreds of Americans killed by the firespic.twitter.com/llASoLvRY5
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 22, 2023
Not to mention, Biden’s age has really been starting to show since he became president, with his never-ending string of embarrassing gaffes.
In short, this is just another example of the massive image problem that Biden has.
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