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Topics: US News, Joe Biden, Republicans
Joe Harker
US president Joe Biden has been mocked after a video of him appearing to shake hands with thin air went viral.
The footage came from the end of a speech he made in North Carolina, and Republicans have been quick to use it to have a go at Biden.
Texas senator Ted Cruz shared the video to his followers on social media accompanied by the eyes emoji, which naturally led to plenty of his supporters and colleagues slating the president's behaviour.
Though it quickly becomes clear what the president was actually doing, one person described it as 'truly bizarre', while another said it made him unfit to be president.
Others piled in with jokes about Biden shaking hands with wrestler and actor John Cena, whose famous 'you can't see me' catchphrase has become a popular meme.
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If you actually watch the full clip it's clear he's instead gesturing at a group of people sitting behind him, which becomes even more apparent when he turns and does the same thing to another group seconds later.
Still, as The Independent reports, the Republicans are trying to push a narrative that Biden is unfit for office, alleging that his mental state is declining and that he is too old to be US commander-in-chief.
The claims against Biden's mental state were first made in the run-up to 2020's presidential election, where Donald Trump challenged his opponent to complete a 'cognitive assessment' test that included being able to tell what an elephant was.
Speaking in December of last year, first lady Jill Biden called Republican claims about her husband's mental state 'ridiculous'.
However, according to The Independent, polling from earlier this year indicates that a majority of Americans believe he doesn't have the 'mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president'.
Even before becoming president Biden had a reputation for being gaffe-prone, once asking a wheelchair bound senator to stand up so that the crowd at a rally could get a better look at him.
That reputation has continued in office, with one of his more famous mishaps being tripping over the stairs to Air Force One – thought Trump has also notoriously needed help on stairs – while he has also previously been criticised for mixing up the names of countries Syria and Libya.
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