White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre labeled recent footage of President Joe Biden appearing to be lost in recent days as manipulated "cheap fakes."
During last week's G7 flag ceremony, Biden appeared to become distracted and stray away from fellow world leaders. Footage of the event shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arm-leading Biden back to the group. Biden also appeared to freeze in place before former President Barack Obama grabbed his arm and led him off stage during a Saturday fundraiser in Los Angeles.
Jean-Pierre responded to the incidents during a Monday press briefing, claiming the story had been falsely reported. The White House press secretary also noted Obama's senior advisor Eric Scultz claimed the fundraiser incident "did not happen."
"Let's not forget, President Obama [and] President Biden have a relationship," Jean-Pierre said, noting the two were friends. "They're like family to each other, and I think that's what you saw. You saw the president put his hand on the back of President Biden, and they walked off the stage." JUST IN: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says videos of Biden freezing and appearing confused are "cheap fakes video."
Don't believe your own eyes, folks.
Pierre said right-wingers who are sharing these videos have a "credibility problem."
"I think you all have… pic.twitter.com/F4Au9ReAY8
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 17, 2024
Jean-Pierre said she was unaware of Meloni's interaction with Biden and could not speak to that incident.
"It was a cheap fake. That was definitely a cheap fake. It was," Jean-Pierre said when pressed by a reporter. "This was widely fact-checked ... including by conservative media on what occurred."
Jean-Pierre claimed President Biden walked over to give a thumbs up to skydivers who had landed in front of the group. "If you run that tape a little bit longer, you would see what was happening, what the president was actually doing," she said.
"It is a cheap fake," Jean-Pierre insisted.
Another reporter pushed back on Jean-Pierre, asking if Biden's actions were "totally normal."
"Instead of Republicans, you know, focusing on the president's performance in office and what he's been able to accomplish — his actual record — they do these cheap fakes," Jean-Pierre responded.
Another reporter referenced a recent incident during a Juneteenth celebration in which Biden appeared to freeze in place as the crowd danced to the music. - Man in a dress front and center at Biden’s Juneteenth celebration.
- Biden looking lost, staring into space like a zombie.
Looks about right for the Biden admin. pic.twitter.com/efN2hbyUcv
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 11, 2024
"Excuse me. I did not know not dancing was a mental ... health issue," Jean-Pierre shot back. "That is a weird thing to actually flag when if you look at the people who are around him, if you look at the expanded video of people who were around him ... there were some folks who were not dancing either."
The White House press secretary went on to criticize Republicans for acting in "bad faith" by criticizing Biden's seemingly odd behavior during events.
The press secretary's coinage of the term "cheap fakes" received criticism from political commentators on X, who variously said the suggestion was implausible "propaganda" and "a new level of lying."
Propaganda has existed at least as long as modern nation states. The difference now is that at other points the propaganda was plausibly believable. The new roll out of the term “cheap fakes” intended to convince people that the President’s obvious cognitive decline is all made… I thought I'd seen everything but "cheap fake" is a new level of lying So, the White House now says all the videos of Biden looking senile are "deepfakes" or "cheapfakes"?! I've been warning that there will come a time when your eyes will deceive you. But this time, it's just Democrat propaganda. pic.twitter.com/5xJvUNKzTX “Cheap fakes” is the New Democrat propaganda phrase for “videos that show the obvious mental and physical incapacity of Biden” https://t.co/J47BXHFcJ4 🇺🇸BIDEN "CHEAP FAKE" OF THE DAY
Just the White House term for "video I don't like" and the media is really running with it
This week, the White House coined a new term for videos that show Biden in a not-so-pleasant light... "CHEAP FAKES."
In today's video, Biden thanks a group of people gathered to celebrate how great the U.S border is.
Biden:
"Thanks to all the… pic.twitter.com/mNB8NBjcMr
