Fact checkers have had to dispel a rumour that Joe Biden fell asleep during a meeting with his Israeli counterpart after footage apparently showed him living up to his “Sleepy Joe” moniker.
The US President was caught on camera apparently snoozing during a 14-minute-long press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on 27th August.
Iran’s Irib News Agency and Turkey’s EHA News both posted the footage while claiming that Biden had fallen asleep during the conference while Bennett was talking.
The footage appears to show the US President napping with his head lowered and his eyes closed. However, fact checkers have had to dispel the rumour that he was actually asleep.
In fact, the 78-year-old President’s hands were moving throughout, putting paid to the claim that the US President was actually dozing off while Bennett was talking.
Fact checkers at Reuters corrected the false claim, pointing out that Biden actually responded to the Israeli PM after he finished talking, which was cut in the misleading clips.
The conversation between the two leaders concerned US-Israeli relations and Iran’s nuclear advances.
Iran and Turkey, where the misleading claims about Biden originated from, have frosty to outright hostile relationships with the USA and Israel.
Biden was famously dubbed “Sleepy Joe” by his predecessor, Donald Trump, in response to his infamous gaffes during his presidential bid.
And the so-called Special Relationship with the UK was recently put under strain when it emerged that Biden had allegedly been called “gaga” and “doolally” during UK cabinet meetings.
However, following Bennett’s first diplomatic visit to America, an Israeli diplomatic official described the US President as “very sharp” and “knowledgeable”.
