Footage in which Joe Biden freezes up for a time during a White House Juneteenth concert is fueling speculation on his health. In footage posted by the Republican National Convention to Twitter, the President stands perfectly still in an awkward position for nearly 20 seconds.
Biden may have simply been entranced by the performance of gospel singer Kirk Franklin as he smiled up at the stage. His stillness is highlighted by the fact that nearly everyone else in the footage is dancing to the music.
The President did begin to move when he noticed the nearby photographers. He then came fully back alive when Philonise Floyd, brother of the late George Floyd, started chatting and put his arm around Biden’s shoulders. The two exchanged a fist bump before Biden went back to staring at the performers.
What is the Joe Biden freezes meme?
As an elderly man under some of the most intense scrutiny of anyone on the planet, Biden’s age and potentially related health problems have caused the public—especially his political opponents—to pick apart his every posture for signs that he’s not fit to run the country. For many, his old-man moments are a frequent source of amusement, even if they’re not ringing the doomsday bell.
This new clip of Biden standing very still with his arms slightly forward in a manner unusual for someone younger but pretty normal for a man in his 80s took less than a day to start becoming a new meme.
As with other incidents involving elderly public figures looking awkward or freezing up, such as all those times when Senator Mitch McConnell was trying to speak in public, people are using the footage as an example of what happens when they get a little too high.
Joe Biden freezing reactions
Republican figures reacted to the footage by further pushing the idea that Biden is too old and frail to take on another four years as the President of the U.S. He is currently 81 and would be 82 by the time he began his next term if he were to win this year’s election.
Donald Trump, his only serious political opponent, is 77.
As Democrats have done with Trump as well as high-profile Republicans like McConnell who are getting up there in age, Republican politicians and conservative pundits have been attempting to turn voters away from Biden by suggesting he’s mentally incompetent.
“Lights are on but no one’s home,” wrote the Trump War Room account over the clip on Twitter.
Those more to the left on the political spectrum were more likely to sympathize with Biden or suggest that his brief stillness wasn’t anything to halt the upcoming election over. Perhaps he was, in fact, just vibing.
Related memes:
- Joe Biden memes: Which are the most popular and enduring?
- Joe Biden grin becomes latest toothy political meme
- Barack Obama creates his own Biden meme to celebrate Joe’s birthday
- Mitch McConnell and the Republican meme machine
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