Biden Team Edits His Scripted Video 8 Times in 24 Seconds

Joe Biden’s aides spliced a 24-second scripted video of the president eight times, raising concerns about whether he can deliver simple remarks without mistakes.

• About one-third of Democrats doubt Biden’s mental fitness, a Harvard/Harris survey recently found.
• Another poll revealed 82 percent of Americans harbor concerns about his physical and mental health.
• Only about one-third of voters say Biden is physically or mentally fit to serve a second term, Quinnipiac found.

Politicians often record remarks on camera for social media, but few short videos are as heavily edited as Biden’s 24-second video. The exception to the repeated jump cuts would be videos created for TikTok.

In contrast to Biden, 81, former President Donald Trump often delivers lengthy uncut videos. Trump delivers his message in a natural way that resonates with many voters.

“There are 8 separate jump/hard cuts to this 20 second video,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung posted on X. “That means Biden could barely read a script without messing up, so they had to stitch all the usable parts together. And even the ‘usable’ parts are bad.”

Last week, Biden appeared to have a difficult time speaking clearly during a campaign rally. He read the word “pause” from the teleprompter instead of pausing his remarks to allow applause, video shows.

“Imagine what we could do next,” Biden said. “Four more years. Pause.”

Biden, whom special counsel Robert Hur characterized as “an elderly man with a poor memory,” often struggles with gaffes. “Are you ready to choose freedom over democracy?” Biden asked supporters in April.

Earlier this year, Biden made the case for his reelection, arguing he is ready for four more years because “I’m in the 20th century,” he said, before correcting himself, saying “the 21st century.”

To decrease the number of mistakes, White House aides give Biden note cards and suggest he stay on a pre-written script, Reuters reported in January. His planned words are typically fully “crafted and vetted” by a host of advisers.