President Joe Biden has kept a good sense of humor about his exit from the 2024 election over concerns about his age —and at a 9/11 memorial event yesterday, the jokes continued.
He smiled as a detractor called him "an old fart," admitting that he's now "slow." And, at one point, even put on a "Trump 2024" hat.
But some right-wingers think the jestful gesture was actually a not-so-subtle message to the public that Biden hates Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced him on the Democratic ticket.
The viral hat moment occurred during a brief exchange between Biden and a man wearing the "Trump 2024" hat in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed in 2001. Biden gave the man a signed hat as the man insulted him, calling him an "old fart."
Biden then jokingly asked the man for his Trump hat and the crowd cheered, asking him to put it on.
Biden put it on over his own hat for a few seconds, smiled, and laughed.
@kelseysimmers94 When your pap gets biden to wear a trump hat ??? #maga
♬ original sound - Kelsey Simmers
The internet was split by the whole exchange. Many praised Biden for his lighthearted demeanor—others, however, saw Biden's behavior as communicating a secret message.
"Kamala did so bad in last night's debate, Joe Biden just put on a Trump hat," former President Donald Trump's official campaign X account, @TrumpWarRoom, tweeted.
"Biden either has no clue what’s going on or he really hates Kamala that much," conservative commentator Cash Loren tweeted.
"Even dementia Joe knows how bad Kamala Harris is," another X user tweeted.
"This is Joe's revenge on The Machine for the coup," another person tweeted. "Atta boy."
Amid all the discourse about Biden in the hat, White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates clarified the situation in a tweet.
"@POTUS spoke about the country's bipartisan unity after 9/11 and said we needed to get back to that," Bates tweeted. "As a gesture, he gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then said that in the same spirit, POTUS should put on his Trump cap. He briefly wore it."
At the Shanksville Fire Station, @POTUS spoke about the country's bipartisan unity after 9/11 and said we needed to get back to that.
— Andrew Bates Archived (@AndrewJBates46) September 11, 2024
As a gesture, he gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then said that in the same spirit, POTUS should put on his Trump cap. He briefly wore it. https://t.co/7VKZnkVMY7
Still, right-wingers saw the moment as a debasement of Harris and an endorsement of Trump.
"Tell Biden we say thanks for the endorsement. We all know he despises Kamala," far-right influencer Gunther Eagleman responded to Bates, echoing comments Trump made at the debate. "You can try to explain it away however you want."
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