No kidding, Biden did not confess to selling state secrets

^{By Frank Algra-Maschio}

A video gaining traction on social media misleadingly claims to show US President Joe Biden confessing to selling state secrets and sharing confidential information.

The clip has been shared by several prominent figures, including Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene and 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate for Arizona Kari Lake.

The video is an excerpt from a press briefing on June 23, 2023 ahead of a roundtable that the US president hosted at the White House with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CEOs of tech companies and other officials. 

The excerpt shows Biden stating that he has “sold a lot of state secrets and a lot of very important things that we shared [sic]”.

Social media users were quick to exploit the comment, with one sharing the video with the accompanying text: “So now that Biden in all his mental illness glory slipped up in front of the world and admitted he [sic] “I sold a lot of state secrets” how soon before the controllers put him out to pasture for good?”

While other users posted: “This Sounds Like A Confession!” and “Biden confesses his crimes to the world on live television”.

However, the edited video circulating on Meta platforms is misleading because the video cuts President Biden’s subsequent comment that acknowledges he was joking.

The official transcript of the meeting records the president’s statements as follows: “I sold a lot of state secrets and a lot of very important things that we shared. (Laughter.) Now, all kidding aside.”

Extended footage of the meeting is available online and shows Biden making clear that he was joking directly after the comments. 

The footage also shows President Modi, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and others at the meeting laughing at Biden’s joke.

Some Facebook users commenting on the misleading video excerpt have called for Biden to be removed from office: “Well there you go he needs to be impeached” and “Biden is incompetent he needs too [sic] be impeached this is dangerous”. While another user claimed the video was proof of “TREASON FOLKS, plain and simple!!!!”.

Other users, however, have pointed out that the video is misleadingly edited, commenting “He’s clearly joking”, and “[Name of account sharing video] I love you but you need to take this down. The full clip shows he was indeed fully joking. Look it up.”

In the longer version of the video, Biden goes on from his joke to introduce the substance of the meeting, which was developing technology and innovation partnerships between the US and India.