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| - FACT CHECK: Did Joe Biden Fall Asleep While Meeting With Victims Of The Maui Wildfires?
A viral video shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, purports President Joe Biden fell asleep while visiting with victims of the recent Maui wildfires.
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
Verdict: False
Biden’s eyes are open in the original video, which has been published on C-SPAN’s website. Additionally, a White House spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Biden was greeted with angry signs from some residents when he arrived in Maui Monday, according to Newsweek. Additionally, the Democratic President has received backlash for making jokes that were in “poor taste,” including one about “hot ground,” the New York Post reported.
“Joe Biden just fell asleep in the middle of his meeting with victims of the Maui fires,” the X video, viewed nearly eight million times, purports. In the video, Biden’s eyes appear to be closed as an off-camera individual delivers remarks during an event that brought together families impacted by the recent Maui wildfires.
The claim is false, however. In the original video of the event, which has been published on C-SPAN, Biden’s eyes are open. The clip shared via the viral X post begins around the C-SPAN video’s 19:28-minute mark, and Biden’s eyes are visibly open mere seconds later at the video’s 19:32-minute mark.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“[The claim is] false,” Bates said. (RELATED: Viral X Video Shows 2018 Fire In California, Not Recent Maui Wildfires)
Likewise, there are no credible news reports from major media outlets, including Reuters or The Associated Press, indicating Biden had fallen asleep during the event. In addition, the White House has not publicly commented on the claim via its website or verified social media accounts. Biden also has not addressed the claim via his personal or government X accounts.
Biden was accompanied by his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, on his trip to Maui following the Aug. 8 wildfires that have killed at least 114 people, NBC News reported. Biden toured Lahaina, the area in Maui where the deadly wildfires occurred, and delivered remarks about the natural disaster, the outlet indicated.
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