When news broke Wednesday evening that President Joe Biden had come down with a bout of COVID-19, a number of people took it in radically different directions.
Some lamented this as a sort of final nail in the coffin of Biden’s dwindling re-election bid. Others, somehow, compared Biden’s illness with the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. And the Biden campaign itself swiftly canceled a speaking event in Las Vegas following the diagnosis.
How did Biden himself handle this news?
He (or perhaps a comm director or social media administrator) tried to make witty post on the social media platform X.
Shortly after the news first began to spread about Biden’s bout with coronavirus, the incumbent president’s personal social media account put out the following:
I’m sick
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 17, 2024
“I’m sick,” the Wednesday X post said.
Is Joe Biden actually sick?
Yes: 33% (1 Votes)
No: 67% (2 Votes)
The punchline, as it turns out, was a follow-up post that denoted Biden was “sick,” but he wasn’t talking about his literal health:
of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.
And if you agree, pitch in here.https://t.co/V93cYUUFQu
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 17, 2024
“… of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election,” Biden’s follow-up post read.
The president’s post appeared to be a direct response to tech mogul Musk’s plans to donate a whopping $45 million per month to a pro-Trump PAC.
Biden’s follow-up post included a link to donate to the Biden-Harris campaign.
It’s unclear how successful of an actual fundraising stunt that post was, but the original “I’m sick” post isn’t doing Biden any favors.
Biden — who is seemingly facing a full-on mutiny from within his own party — needs momentum and serious political wins to right his re-election campaign.
Having an X post turn into mockery and memery, as the original post did, is the last thing Biden needs.
Just look at some of these re-posts:
We know. pic.twitter.com/PRQ6YNIeIO https://t.co/mH6oRZlgB2
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 18, 2024
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself”
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”
“Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall”
:
: https://t.co/1LrajUOdBy— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) July 18, 2024
https://t.co/I1eSZSWhpp pic.twitter.com/suDC644jt4
— Shaun Johnson (@sexwithuruncle) July 18, 2024
The direct replies were not any better.
Buttressing concerns about Biden’s viability, reports have since been circulating that the incumbent president has been asking his staff about the viability of Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election.
