An edited video of President Joe Biden putting on a medal backwards made its rounds on social media.
The video appears to show Biden putting the Medal of Honor around the neck of Spc. Five Dwight W. Birdwell the wrong way.
Critics were quick to mock the president.
One user tweeted, “Oh my gosh, he did. Biden put his medal on backward. He’s declining before our eyes.”
Oh my gosh, he did. Biden put his medal on backward. He's declining before our eyes. pic.twitter.com/3EnLSiS3PT
— Kambree (@KamVTV) July 6, 2022
Check out more reactions below:
Biden put his medal on backwards. Don’t worry, this isn’t alarming. pic.twitter.com/bCnJO9o49X
— The W&J Show w/ Kenny Webster (@WaltonNJohnson) July 6, 2022
You can’t make this up!!
Joe Biden placed a medal to a Vietnam veteran wrong way around his back. pic.twitter.com/hcV3LVh8Gh— Joel Fischer 🇺🇸 (@realJoelFischer) July 6, 2022Did you think the video was real?
lol love that everyone is just pretending Biden didn’t put the medal on backwards 🤣😂😠pic.twitter.com/Bl7ot2UybB
— Sauce Boss (@KingOfConvexity) July 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/DemsOnTikTok/status/1545301561764716550
Biden puts the medal on backwards. 🤦
— Leisa 🇺🇸 (@LeisaSNewman) July 8, 2022
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/JBjuJYioQO
However, CNN’s fact-checker Daniel Dale posted the real video showing Biden putting the medal on correctly.
“More than 2 million views on this nonsense, which uses fuzzy-fied video to mislead. Regular-clarity footage clearly shows Biden put the medal on the right way,” Dale tweeted.
More than 2 million views on this nonsense, which uses fuzzy-fied video to mislead. Regular-clarity footage clearly shows Biden put the medal on the right way. https://t.co/f8ZVuXHAED pic.twitter.com/zRqDWqfARp
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 7, 2022
Additionally, The Associated Press conducted a fact check on the claim that Biden put the medal on the wrong way.
The outlet reported that a “review of clearer video from the ceremony makes it clear no mistake was made. While one recipient was given his medal framed, Biden fastened the three other medals around each recipient’s neck, fastening them at the back of the neck with the medal extending down on the chest.”
On Thursday, the president awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 recipients.
“The Fourth of July week reminds us what brought us together long ago, and still binds us — binds us at our best, what we strive for. We the people, doing what we can to ensure that the idea of America, the cause of freedom, shines like the sun to light up the future of the world,” Biden said while delivering remarks.
He added, “That’s the soul of our nation. That’s who we are as Americans.”
The White House explained the medal is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”
