President Joe Biden showed signs of cognitive decline when he walked away from an Air Force Falcons presentation with a jersey, snubbing a signed football and helmet.
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President Joe Biden holds a football during the presentation of the Commander-in-Chief's trophy to the Air Force Academy in the White House, Friday, April 28, 2023. (AP)
Full video shows Biden did not simply walk away from football tokens offered by Air Force Falcons
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The full video showed that Biden held the jersey, football and helmet, thanked the Air Force Falcons and posed for pictures.
Did President Joe Biden confuse a crowd by snubbing tokens offered by the U.S. Air Force Academy football team and walking away? An Instagram video shows a clip implying this, labeling it a "WTF" moment.
"Biden was supposed to receive a jersey, a ball signed by the whole football team and a helmet, but instead he takes only the jersey and just walks away," reads the text in a May 13 Instagram video. "Everybody is so confused."
The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The Instagram post is stripped from context and ignores that Biden acknowledged and even held the ball and helmet before he walked away with the jersey.
The post’s video comes from footage of an April 28 ceremony in which Biden presented the commander-in-chief’s trophy to the Air Force Falcons. The Air Force football team beat the U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy during last year’s college football season.
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At the end of Biden’s remarks, he was presented with an Air Force Falcons jersey, football and helmet. At around the 13-minute mark of the White House and C-SPAN footage of the event, Biden can be seen holding the football and helmet and speaking to the players who shared them with him.
He cracked jokes, saying, "Where I’m going tonight, I may need that helmet." He added, "Go down, out and down, OK?" and pretended to throw the football. This is reflected on the official transcript.
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"Thank you very much. What a great, great honor. I appreciate it very much. Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said, posing for pictures with Air Force quarterback Haaziq Daniels and running back Brad Roberts.
Biden took only the jersey as he walked away, but there’s no sign it left the crowd, which stood as he left the room, "confused."
We rate the claim that Biden showed signs of cognitive decline when he walked away with only a football jersey False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, May 13, 2023
The White House YouTube channel, President Biden presents the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Air Force Falcons, April 28, 2023
C-SPAN, President Biden presents Commander-In-Chief Trophy, April 28, 2023
The White House, Remarks by President Biden at presentation of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Air Force Falcons, April 28, 2023
The Associated Press, Biden awards football trophy to Air Force Academy, April 28, 2023
Air Force Falcons photos, Air Force football White House visit, April 28, 2023
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Full video shows Biden did not simply walk away from football tokens offered by Air Force Falcons
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