Biden blew a kiss after his White House remarks. His detractors said it meant something deeper
Some of President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters took to social media to note, or mock, President Joe Biden for blowing a kiss at the end of his White House remarks following Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the presidential election.
“Joe Biden was smiling and blowing kisses today… TWO days after Kamala lost the election,” one pro-Trump account wrote on X, sharing a video from Biden’s Nov. 7 remarks that included a narrator’s voice saying, “Dude, he’s happy Trump won!”
“Joe Biden blew a kiss at his audience at the very end! He is thrilled that President Trump won the election!” another X post proclaimed. Yet another claimed Biden’s kiss-blowing target was “staff members of the White House.”
But these posts and others like them give a misleading spin on Biden’s gesture.
There is no evidence Biden — who spent most of the past five years seeking to distinguish himself and his administration from Trump and his policies, and went as far as to give up his candidacy because he thought his vice president was better positioned to beat him — suddenly converted to supporting Trump.
At the end of his brief address, Biden did blow a kiss and wink toward the front row of seats. We reviewed footage of the event but none showed who he was looking at. The White House did not respond to our questions about the claims.
But Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, who was covering the event at the White House, wrote on X that Biden was blowing the kiss “to his granddaughter, who was in the front row.”
In his remarks, Biden did not cheerlead for Trump’s victory but rather said it showed the resilience of the country’s democratic system.
He said he would enable a “peaceful transfer of power” for Trump, adding, “The people vote and choose their own leaders, and they do it peacefully. And we’re in a democracy. The will of the people always prevails.”
Biden urged Americans to “see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. … You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”
He also applauded Harris for giving “her whole heart and effort” to the presidential campaign, which began after Biden in late July gave up the nomination he’d secured in the primaries.
“She’s been a partner and a public servant,” Biden said. “She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much: her character. She has a backbone like a ramrod.”
