July 25, 2024

"There is speculation among social media users that President Joe Biden's recent speech was pre-recorded rather than live."

"This speculation is based on observations that the time displayed on Biden's watch during the speech did not match the actual time of the broadcast. Some users have expressed skepticism and questioned the authenticity of the speech, suggesting that it may have been edited or manipulated."

Grok summarizes the buzz on line.

Here's the image everyone is displaying. The diagram in the upper left corner shows the time of broadcast. The image on the watch, which is harder to see and upside down, shows a time around 6:07.


Great catch on the watch, but what did you expect? Why would he do it live? Yes, we have questions about his competence, but it would have been incompetent to do this live. He couldn't even really do it properly on the video that we saw, presumably pre-recorded and the best of several attempts to get it right. It was, of course, incompetent to allow the watch to show the wrong time, but someone else should have seen to that.

But why did they make the speech so long? If they needed to use pre-recording, why did they make the task of getting it right so hard? I'm thinking this was the only take, and they decided that it was good enough because it was impossible to believe it would get better. It was very poorly articulated and I (and others I talked to) found what we did hear hard to understand because it seemed to have been said by a person who did not understand the words. It was an effort to listen to that even for 11 minutes, which was all it took. Plus, it meandered through unnecessary material (while not covering the actual issue in any depth). 

It should have been half as long. Or less. A lot less. Something he could understand and say. 

Was that the last we'll ever hear from him?

ADDED: Whatever the time, we know the season. It is the winter of his possibilities:
AND: The words, according to the transcript, are: "We’ve come so far since my inauguration. On that day, I told you as I stood in that winter — we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities, peril and possibilities." I listened to that repeatedly before reading the transcript and I listened after reading the transcript, and every single time I hear "winter apparel."

IN THE COMMENTS: rehajm said:
As someone who takes many pictures of watches...I took one look at the photo and thought something is amiss...

I don't care about Joe's watch collection but others seem to be and they claim he wears couple Omegas- a Seamaster and a Moonwatch and also a Rolex Datejust. The only one of these this watch could be is the blue dial Rolex Datejust. I believe moden Datejust has lumed sword style hands and the inset photo looks like dauphine or dagger hands- not the same. It looks 'off'...

I went to find high-res of the address video. I'm watching but it is hard to tell- lots of refraction caused by bright lights. I sometimes believe I see the absence of hands between the five and seven markers- no hour hand between the six and seven markers and sometimes think I see the time reads about five after eight early in the video...

I'll look some more but I put a place marker on fake...

99 comments:

JRoberts said...

Interesting. Does the watch show a DATE?

Todd said...

I did not watch this one nor the prior one. I did read about them online and one of the things said about this "speech" was "he is orange again". If this was pre-recorded, it may have been done back when he was originally orange and saved for now? I have not been following any of this too closely as I am just a little sick of watching this slow motion clown car wreck and figured I would try to step back and wait for more of the dust to settle, so can't speak to his "orangeness" either way. It has been demonstrated multiple times that he will read whatever is put in front of him so it is not impossible that this is a long form example of that and it was recorded "back then".

Is there actual, recent "proof of life"? Biden walking/talking in a public/outdoor setting or some such with plenty of witnesses?

Jamie said...

Don't worry, the politburo's got this.

I imagine they'll keep trotting him out for similar short pre-recorded things. I cannot imagine he'll be meeting with anyone of importance, but heck, world leaders who have met with him, this year especially but over his entire term, have kept mum about his deterioration just as well as his VP, his cabinet, Pelosi and Schumer and Clyburn and Jeffries, his donors, the media...

Today's odds: Trump steady but a little better than yesterday at -159, Harris up and down, presently at +184, which is considerably better than yesterday evening if memory serves (something like +400?). My concern is the stupid Project 2025 thing she's going to hang around Trump's neck at every opportunity - thanks a lot, Heritage. You could have dribbled out a series of position papers with your name sprinkled liberally throughout each one, but no.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

This all seems to confirm that they had to promise not to invoke the 25th Amendment in order to get "him" to agree not to run. Is this not a threat to democracy: a cabal keeping a ventriloquist's dummy in the White House for six more months, because this serves the interests of a slightly bigger cabal?

MartyH said...

How can a cadaver do something “live”?

Meade said...

Don we now our gay possibilities… fa la la la…

Dave Begley said...

It was done early so that Dr. Jill could jump on Air Force One for Paris.

Tank said...

We really are living through bizarre times where everything is fake and phony and unbelievable.

Temujin said...

Well...given that his entire Presidency, from his 2020 campaign to last night's series finale, has been staged. Every bit of it. And I think it's fitting that he goes out discussing winter apparel, this Lion of American politics.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I'd examine the possibility that he didn't reset his watch when he returned to Delaware. Because he's old.

JRoberts said...

I'm thinking of Gell-Mann amnesia.

We now have a better understanding of Biden's condition and that he's probably been little more than a puppet, but the Democrats expect us to turn the page and believe everything about how great Harris-Whoever will be.

Christopher B said...

Adds to the reasoning to do it from the 'Oval Office'. Maybe even the one they had built for reasons unknown, too. No witnesses who would blabber about the timing.

FWIW I saw comments when the broadcast was going down that the light was wrong for the time of day, as well as the fact it was rainy in DC but not outside those 'windows'.

Leland said...

Fraud Democrats like.

Bob Boyd said...

what did you expect? Why would he do it live?

Because we were told he would speak to us live and that he capable of it?

The main purpose of the speech was to tell us he would remain President and assure us he could fulfill the duties of the office for the remainder of his term. This deception argues strongly against.
Have we given up completely on any expectation or demand that the government do what they say they'll do?

rehajm said...

As someone who takes many pictures of watches...I took one look at the photo and thought something is amiss...

I don't care about Joe's watch collection but others seem to be and they claim he wears couple Omegas- a Seamaster and a Moonwatch and also a Rolex Datejust. The only one of these this watch could be is the blue dial Rolex Datejust. I believe moden Datejust has lumed sword style hands and the inset photo looks like dauphine or dagger hands- not the same. It looks 'off'...

I went to find high-res of the address video. I'm watching but it is hard to tell- lots of refraction caused by bright lights. I sometimes believe I see the absence of hands between the five and seven markers- no hour hand between the six and seven markers and sometimes think I see the time reads about five after eight early in the video...

I'll look some more but I put a place marker on fake...

Fredrick said...

Biden is perfectly healthy, just like the press and senior democrats told us. Right up to the debate. Now he is only healthy enough to be president not campaign to be president.

Big Mike said...

Was that the last we'll ever hear from him?

I have the damnable feeling the answer is negative.

The watch is proof it wasn’t AI, but not proof it wasn’t live. It would be very much in keeping for that old idiot not to notice his watch had stopped. The proof that it was prerecorded is that it started on time. I came in late after watering my back flower bed, expecting Joe Biden speech guaranteed a late start, but the damned thing was already over.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

The length of his monologue was assessed in competition to, and demonstrate equity with Trump's stamina. Bidenbum, Bidenbum, Bidenbum

Big Mike said...

@rehajm, why would a guy in his 80s have a modern Rolex?

tcrosse said...

"I'm not a President, but I play one on TV"

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Some guys never seem to be able to get the knot of their necktie all the way up for some reason or another.

Dave Begley said...

We have come far since January 20, 2021. We are a complete mess and suffering from the chaos Joe inflicted upon us.

n.n said...

This reminds me of an Outer Limits episode, where the Oval Office is invaded by aliens, and they are pulling the strings of the no longer viable President to assure the People that everything is fine... and progressing according to plan.

gilbar said...

it was an interesting speech..
there was NO Mention of WHY he stepped down..
Only an assertion that he "had to", for the good of "the party"

and WHILE they were recording it..
Hamas terrorists were occupying The Capitol, burning American flags, and raising their own.
Will ANY of them face ANY charges? you know the answer as well as i do

rehajm said...

Since we're on the subject of Presidential watches, the best story IMO is the one about the Vulcain Cricket. Truman's photo press corps presented a Cricket to him with the inscription One more please... as a gift and he apparently wore it quite often. Ike got one, and LBJ loved loved loved the Cricket. He handed them out like candy. I see those Crickets come up for auction quite often...

Vulcain went tu for a time and was revived in the 90s I think. They now gift all the US Presidents with one. Not sure Biden is on that list. If he got one he doesn't wear it...

Dave Begley said...

So typical of the sloppiness of Joe’s handlers. Spielberg or Katzenberg would not have made that stupid mistake. It’s called continuity.

Amadeus 48 said...

He got John Meacham to write it. You don't eat a pig like that all at once.

JAORE said...

So the debate was really was just "one bad day"... This guy if fully capable of being POTUS (hey, did he know Bibi was in town?) Feh.

And the networks failed to note the glaring lies. Of course I could have missed that from the tongue bath noises. Slurpity, slurp.

rehajm said...

Big Mike said...
@rehajm, why would a guy in his 80s have a modern Rolex?


Excellent question to which I don't know the answer. However I do know several brands often gift celebrities and heads of state with watches for a good reason- marketing. See my little story upthread. I think Rolex gives them out to US Presidents and I think the President gets to pick...

Narayanan said...

from the chaos Joe inflicted upon us.
=================
for accuracy need to replace 'Joe' with 'Pence'

Jersey Fled said...

There was a video a day or two ago of Biden getting out of a limo and climbing the big stairs to board Air Force One. I think it was his return to DC after recuperating in Delaware. He looked very spry climbing those stairs, much better than we’ve seen him in months if not years. I think Ann noticed and commented on it too.

It didn’t occur to me that the video may have come from the archives. He basically wears the same suit and tie every day so it’s hard to tell.

Deep fake?

Amadeus 48 said...

Are we sure this is farewell? He's going to be around for six months curing cancer and fixing up the Supreme Court.

Dan from Madison said...

Outside of the addled/slurred speech and obvious struggles to get through a teleprompted bunch of words, the content of the words was ridiculous. No reason WHY he dropped out, nor how on earth he thinks he should still be president. This is really unbelievable.

Narayanan said...

exactly how does this work?

Do networks and C-SPAN get a feed from WH or do they put camera/s in Oval Office? which then video capture a projection or whatsis!

rehajm said...

This to me looks like between 8:10 and 8:15

Soory if I'm ruining someone's fun. I've been told here to BOLO for deepfakes. Guess that includes not so deep fakes...

typingtalker said...

In a nutshell ... "I'm resigning. Thank you for your support."

Esteban said...

How can Harris be the President if she isn't willing to execute on the duties of the VP and invoke the 25th Amendment. Doesn't duty demand it of her? THIS is the whole reason we have a VP and the 25th Amendment!

Ann Althouse said...

"Because we were told he would speak to us live..."

Were we?

I'd look back at those statements and try to find what they said. You need the literal quote. I'll bet they left weasel room.

tommyesq said...

I'd examine the possibility that he didn't reset his watch when he returned to Delaware. Because he's old.

It would have read 5:07 if that were true, Vegas is three hours behind Delaware/DC.

rehajm said...

I became skeptical just before Joe came on when the FOX News guy Bret felt compelled to squeeze in the factoid that The White House staff was having a pizza watch party. That seemed...odd.

Ann Althouse said...

"I'd look back at those statements and try to find what they said. You need the literal quote. I'll bet they left weasel room."

I went back to the CNN article I blogged yesterday, using the Wayback Machine, because CNN had updated it to refer to the speech in the past.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/24/politics/biden-oval-office-address-2024/index.html

Here's the text for you to look for the promise that we'd hear the speech live:

"President Joe Biden’s address to the nation Wednesday evening will serve not only to explain his shocking decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race but will carry an element of poignancy as he begins the closing chapter of his presidency and half-century in public service.... His speech at 8 p.m. ET will be his first extensive remarks since his announcement Sunday that he was not running and will serve as the first time many Americans see him since he tested positive for Covid-19 last week."

"His speech at 8 p.m. ET" might sound like a promise that he'd give it live, but there's room to say that's just the time it would be aired.

"The president intends to use the prime-time remarks to reveal to the American people how he arrived at the painful decision...."

Again, no "live." There's perhaps even an assiduous avoidance of "live."

Iman said...

“Was that the last we'll ever hear from him?”

I was hoping his allocution would be the last, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Former Illinois resident said...

Wouldn't be surprised if this was AI video compilation, image doctored to incorporate consistent-colored necktie on strangely orange Biden-man. Biden's delivery was robotic, his eyes black, and his tone robotic.

I'm very worried about fate of next six months.

Jersey Fled said...

I think AI would have done a better job.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Biden - the real Orange man... bad.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

This "talk" was touted as explaining the reasons for his departure which is exactly what he did NOT provide. If "passing the torch" was some kind of grand plan it surely could have been done earlier. Why now? Why wait a week since his last public comments? What changed, Joe?

Be specific. Mumbling generalities is bullshit for a first-ever in history moment.

And why was his family in tears while he was completely unemotional at all?

Earnest Prole said...

Jesus, it’s like Bluto’s watch in the Animal House parade raid scene.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Biden's delivery was robotic, his eyes black, and his tone robotic.

Yep. Yep. And it sure was.

Sally327 said...

Using the word "live" when referring to Joe Biden, I figured we were just being kind. Maybe his watch is set to another time zone, a special Joe Biden time zone, where he resides in his mind.

Sally327 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Breezy said...

CTH thinks there’s evidence of injury on his face, under the makeup, on his lower left jaw and near left eye socket. Fwiw.

Breezy said...

Here’s the link re injury speculation:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/07/24/biden-gives-exit-speech-showing-clear-signs-of-injury/

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Big Mike said...
@rehajm, why would a guy in his 80s have a modern Rolex?

C'mon, man! He's battled inflation and prices are so far down due to Bidenomics that you can pick one up for $9.95! Why not have a drawer full?!

Limited blogger said...

It says LIVE twice on the chyron.

brentfinley said...

If he owns and wears multiple watches, could that watch be set two timezones back?

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, I posted a comment circa 7:40 and I saw that that the comment made into this thread. Now it’s gone. Is it in your spam folder? If so, may I ask why? I see that there is a comment deleted “by the author” at 7:41. If that’s my comment then I assure you I did not delete it. If you or Meade deleted it, shouldn’t it say something like “deleted by a big administrator”?

I don’t see what‘s so controversial about an observation that the watch is an indicator that the speech was not AI-generated (because the AI would get a detail like that right) coupled with the observation thst a speech starting on time is counter-indicative that it was a live speech by Joe Biden.

rehajm said...

Big Mike, assume its the Blogger glitch everyone’s been experiencing unless you hear otherwise….

MadTownGuy said...

Big Mike said...

"@rehajm, why would a guy in his 80s have a modern Rolex?"

Hunter bought it for him...so he could inherit it.

MadTownGuy said...

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

[Biden's delivery was robotic, his eyes black, and his tone robotic.]

"Yep. Yep. And it sure was."

And yet, even with a teleprompter, he couldn't keep it together. I found myself wondering if there was someone beside the camera, cueing him on the hand gestures.

PB said...

It was billed as live and it seems it wasn't. Yet another fraud on the American people by a party that bills itself as honest

Fred Drinkwater said...

Big Mike, the watch is the kind of detail an AI gets wrong, unless specifically prompted. Might even get a couple extra hands, never know.

Tina Trent said...

Chilly Scenes of Winter, the book, not the movie.

Or, cynically, maybe both.

Lekha Rao said...

Joe in winter apparel

https://x.com/EyeOfTheTigerPA/status/1816276261867602182/photo/1

Wilbur said...

Ann Althouse said: It should have been half as long. Or less. A lot less. Something he could understand and say.


That's true of 95% of speeches or just oral presentations in general. And written ones, too, for that matter. Brevity is the soul of wit, right?

A man I respected very much told me the three precepts of public speaking - be brief, be sincere, and be seated.

WV Hillbilly said...

@rehajm
The shared image was doctored.
Here's a legit screen grab.
https://i.imgflip.com/8y66y7.jpg

tommyesq said...

At 11:10 am on Tuesday, Biden himself (or whoever is running his X/Twitter account) posted - "Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people."

That seems like a commitment that it would be live to me.

imTay said...

We were in peril of not having a war in Europe, we should thank our lucky stars that we were blessed with Joe Biden’s leadership, look how the invasion we provoked worked out for us! Sweden and Finland are in NATO! So stop crying about the price of groceries! And don’t worry, every single one of Russia’s 6,000 nukes is a damp squib. Only chickens are afraid of a nuclear war.

Yancey Ward said...

I didn't expect it to be live and there is no reason to do it live. Doing it live is just too risky right now if you expect Biden to remain President without further challenges. I expect you will see him again at the convention but I would be shocked if he gives more than a simple sentence or two at the convention.

Achilles said...

rehajm said...

This to me looks like between 8:10 and 8:15

Soory if I'm ruining someone's fun. I've been told here to BOLO for deepfakes. Guess that includes not so deep fakes...


Am I looking at the 2 white hands on this watch?

I see the minute hand offset by seven numbers from the hour hand so that infers 8:05 to me.

Am I looking at it right?

Achilles said...

Breezy said...

CTH thinks there’s evidence of injury on his face, under the makeup, on his lower left jaw and near left eye socket. Fwiw.

His left cheek bone is sunken.

I am going to look at older pictures to see if this is new.

Achilles said...

Actually the whole left side of his face is completely reshaped compared to the right side. Symmetry is way off.

That could just as easily be stroke damage.

Achilles said...

Joe's face had the same shape at the debate.

Bob Boyd said...

Brevity is the soul of wit, right?

Impropriety is the soul of wit. Brevity is the soul of lingerie. Dorothy Parker, I think.

Indigo Red said...

It's not the actual Oval Office, either. It's the mockup studio Biden has used in the past. The real Oval Office window view has a prominent tree branch at shoulder level on the President's left extending about three-quarters across the window. The mock office doesn't, although being a digital image, it can be anything.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

That the discussion is even taking place is a pretty good indication of where we are. Is the President of the United States capable of giving a short speech? Incredible.

I would have thought it impossible for Democrats to exceed the depravity of their exploitation of Covid. I was wrong, natch.

Butkus51 said...

There were more than a few people in that room.

All people of high integrity.

Iman said...

Flipping Blogger

mikee said...

The man used a list he openly read from, to call pre-assigned (by whom?) reporters in his last "press conference" and you're wondering if he faked this live speech? Hillary's most famous quote is apt here: "What difference, at this point, does it make?"

Static Ping said...

Of course they would have prerecorded it. After the debate mess, he cannot be trusted to do anything live. We have 30 second videos of him with so many edits that the number of takes to get something usable must have been ridiculous.

He's not really the President, in case you were unclear on the situation.

And our mainstream media is just a propaganda machine, in case that was unclear as well.

Static Ping said...

For that matter, if they trusted him they wouldn't have waited until mid-week to make this extremely important announcement, instead of posting it as a generic letter on X.

Iman said...

As of 2024, Biden may be the biggest fraud and failure of the 21st century.

Jamie said...

I watched it on YouTube - there was an ASL interpreter. Was she also on other media outlets?

I'm wondering if there's anyone here who uses ASL. I do not - at all, except for the alphabet - and I'd love to know whether it was a faithful interpretation. One gesture, a horizontal circling gesture, got used an awful lot, and I couldn't match it to a word or phrase that was similarly repeated.

But because I am entirely unschooled in ASL, it might certainly be that it wasn't the same gesture at all - just several similar gestures that only look identical to me.

gilbar said...

will we EVER see Biden again?

Jersey Fled said...

“ As of 2024, Biden may be the biggest fraud and failure of the 21st century.”

Trying to think of someone who might come close.

Jamie said...

Also, FWIW, I always assumed it'd be recorded. My assumption appeared borne out by the fact that the YouTube version of it, which I was streaming live, had an endpoint that the little red ball and line approached, approached, and then ended on.

But I can't say I generally watch things live on YouTube, so maybe it's always that way - maybe the endpoint keeps moving rightward just ahead of the little red ball or something. It didn't look like that - it looked as if the timeline was fixed and the red line that tracks it just followed it and ended at its end.

If any of that makes sense.

Howard said...

Kubrick moon fake.

"We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
Colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
Of each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up,"

walter said...

"Was that the last we'll ever hear from him?"
Team Juice likes the way you think.

Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

Fred Drinkwater said...

Big Mike, the watch is the kind of detail an AI gets wrong, unless specifically prompted. Might even get a couple extra hands, never know.


I disagree. If “thinks” to include a watch it would probably get it right.

Achilles said...

Jamie said...

Also, FWIW, I always assumed it'd be recorded. My assumption appeared borne out by the fact that the YouTube version of it, which I was streaming live, had an endpoint that the little red ball and line approached, approached, and then ended on.

But I can't say I generally watch things live on YouTube, so maybe it's always that way - maybe the endpoint keeps moving rightward just ahead of the little red ball or something. It didn't look like that - it looked as if the timeline was fixed and the red line that tracks it just followed it and ended at its end.

If any of that makes sense.


No. In a true live feed the little red ball and progress bar are pinned to the right.

Rabel said...

Clearer image of the watch.

From this AP photo series (click the photos button below the video). There's a second one of the watch from slightly later.

My guess is that they were taken after the speech.

Also, family was in the room.

Also, it was in the Oval Office.

Rabel said...

"I'll look some more but I put a place marker on fake..."

Winner! How much did you put down?

Merny11 said...

Did anyone else see the discussion on X regarding Bidens height? He appears to have grown 4 inches or more …. Someone said maybe long COVID LOL

Merny11 said...

https://x.com/bgatesisapyscho/status/1816436431914438772?s=61&t=2VMGEZvKlYoYbiOTPMwcjw

rehajm said...

If there's technical problems with the media in the near future we know some observant saboteur is messing with the pool bridge. I hope they frequently change the code...

Jersey Fled said...

Is that a picture of Commander eating a child on the credenza behind Biden?

Dr.Bunkypotatohead said...

I think the party leaders were hoping old Joe would just give an Irish goodbye and slip out the back door.

Achilles said...

Jersey Fled said...

“ As of 2024, Biden may be the biggest fraud and failure of the 21st century.”

Trying to think of someone who might come close.

... yet.

Kamala has her knee pads on and is ready to get to work.