On June 6, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day by participating in a ceremony in Normandy, France. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were also present, alongside other dignitaries. Hours after that, a strange claim started circulating on social media.
Several users pointed out Biden's awkward pose in a short video clip of Thursday's D-Day ceremony in Normandy. Some suggested Biden was trying to sit in an invisible chair or had "pooped his pants." However, the claim is false as another longer video proves Biden was trying to sit down on a chair that was directly behind him
Weird Claim about President
Several users on X widely shared a rumor claiming that a confused Biden tried to sit in an "invisible chair" during the ceremony. Some posts spreading this rumor included a 12-second video first posted by X user RNC Research (@RNCResearch) — the GOP's official rapid response account.
This post featured only a one-word text caption with a grimacing emoji, stating, "Awkward."
Donald Trump Jr. also shared the clip, though he did not reference the chair rumor. Other users posted the same clip, alleging that Biden "pooped" his pants.
Many YouTube users also re-uploaded the same short clip initially posted by the RNC Research account.
However, a review of a longer version of the video confirmed the rumor that Biden tried to sit in an "invisible chair" was completely false.
In the moments immediately following the 12-second clip, Biden, his wife, and the Macrons all sat down in chairs that were positioned behind them.
The Real Story
The sequence of events leading to the rumored "invisible chair" moment started with a special part of the ceremony. After addressing the gathered crowd, Macron presented France's highest honor, the National Order of the Legion of Honor, to several American World War II veterans seated on stage.
Biden then followed Macron across the stage and greeted each of the honored veterans.
After the honors were completed, Macron and Biden returned to stand in front of their chairs with their wives.
These chairs were not visible in the short video clip initially shared by the RNC Research account and later reposted by others.
Readers can view the entire moment at the 4:16:21 mark in this video posted on the YouTube channel for The Times and The Sunday Times.
Biden then began to sit but hesitated momentarily while the Macrons and Jill Biden remained standing. Moments later, the Macrons and Bidens all sat down in their chairs. The claim is thus completely false and baseless.
