A video of US President Joe Biden walking away after an interview is being shared with the false claims that he exited "mid-interview", using the same to mock and claim it was a "senior moment" from the 80-year-old Biden.
BOOM found that the video has been falsely shared to claim that Biden left midway during the interview; the full clip shows Biden shaking hands with Nicolle Wallace, the journalist, and saying goodbye before leaving the set.
MSNBC journalist Nicolle Wallace interviewed Joe Biden on June 30 where the two spoke about the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action that forbade universities from taking race into consideration while granting admissions. The two also discussed foreign policy and other issues before the Biden administration.
A claim on Twitter reads, "Biden wandered off mid-interview on live National TV today. Could you imagine the international response if Putin did this?"
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
Many users have also claimed that Biden walked away abruptly and in a bizarre manner, further playing into the narrative that he had a "senior moment", a criticism that Joe Biden has received quite frequently owing to his age.
Concerns about the 80-year-old President's age and health have grown especially after he announced a reelection campaign. His recent verbal slip, where he said Putin was losing the war in 'Iraq', when he actually meant to say Ukraine, and falling on a stage earlier this month at an event have further brought up questions about his mental and physical fitness.
BOOM had previously debunked a similar video in August 2021 that claimed Joe Biden fell asleep midway during his meeting with the Israeli PM. Read here.
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the claims are false, and Joe Biden left the interview after shaking hands with Nicolle Wallace and saying goodbye, following which Wallace announced a commercial break.
A keyword search of the video's full version led us to a Twitter thread by journalist Nicholas Fondacaro, who also mocked Biden for his exit during the interview. However, the tweet carries a longer version of the video that shows Wallace announcing a commercial break and signalling the end of the interview.
Wallace is heard saying, "Don't go anywhere. It's a very exciting day around here; we have reaction(s) and analyses of everything we just heard from the President. We'll be back after a short break."
This portion of the video, that shows Wallace signalling the end of the interview and saying, "We will be back after a short break" has been clipped to purport that she was still speaking while Biden made his exit.
A tweet by the White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates also confirms that Biden did not have a "senior moment." Quoting a tweet that mocked Biden for his exit, Bates wrote, "power move," indicating that Biden left on his own will.
The full interview on MSNBC's official YouTube page uploaded on June 30 also ends when Biden leaves the set.
