Fact Check: Did Joe Biden really ‘wander off’ during G7 summit?

APULIA, ITALY: As former President Donald Trump celebrated his 78th birthday on Friday night, June 14, his campaign team actively sought to discredit his 2024 presidential opponent, Joe Biden, by misrepresenting a widely circulated moment from the incumbent POTUS' recent trip to the G7 summit, according to ABC News.

Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt highlighted a skydiving demonstration President Biden attended alongside other world leaders on Thursday, June 13, in southern Italy as part of the G7 summit.

Leavitt issued a statement, saying, "From Italy to the United Kingdom to New York, millions of people around the world woke up to headlines about Crooked Joe Biden's cognitive decline on full display at the G7 Summit."

"Biden was seen staring off into the distance and wandering around like a brain-dead zombie, and even had to be ushered by Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni," Leavitt claimed.

What actually transpired during skydiving demonstration in front of G7 leaders?

The edited video of President Joe Biden apparently motioning to no one during the skydiving demonstration had garnered millions of views as of Friday afternoon.

It was flagged on the social media platform, X, formerly Twitter, providing additional context that the video had been cropped.

The unedited footage presents an alternate perspective: a skydiver had just landed in the area where President Biden had previously walked by, prompting the 81-year-old POTUS to approach the skydiver to offer a thumbs up, presumably to show appreciation for the parachutist’s skills.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni then redirected President Joe Biden back to the group so that one of the skydivers could provide a briefing to the G7 leaders who were present there, per USA Today.

Another camera angle captures the moment when President Biden engaged in a conversation with the skydiver before walking away.

How did the White House react to the clip deliberately showing Biden in bad light?

White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, clarified on X, "The Murdoch outlets are so desperate to distract from @POTUS's record that they just lie."

"Here, they use an artificially narrow frame to hide from viewers that he just saw a skydiving demonstration," Bates wrote. "He's saying congratulations to one of the divers and giving a thumbs-up."

Bates also shared his own footage, which showed Biden approaching the skydiver to praise him.

The latest polls indicate that age is a significant concern for voters in the current election cycle, particularly with respect to both candidates.

However, there seems to be more apprehension regarding President Joe Biden, who recently turned 81.

According to a recent survey conducted by Marquette University, 79% of participants believe that the phrase "too old" accurately characterizes Biden, to a very or somewhat large extent, while 54% expressed the same sentiment about Trump.

What is the G7 Summit?

The Group of Seven (G7) allies comprise Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The annual summit this year took place in the Puglia region of Italy from Thursday to Saturday.

President Joe Biden engaged in discussions with other world leaders featured in the skydiving video, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The European Union is also involved in G7 Summit deliberations.