A video capturing President Joe Biden’s apparent struggle with an umbrella in Japan has quickly gained popularity, leading to ridicule from conservative commentators.
The president arrived in Japan on Thursday, landing at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni ahead of the G7 summit, which brings together leaders from advanced industrial economies.
Despite polling showing that over two-thirds of Americans believe he may be too old for a second term, Biden has announced his plans to seek reelection in 2024. Consequently, Republicans are likely to raise concerns about his health and mental fitness during the campaign.
On Twitter, the official Republican National Committee (RNC) research account shared a clip from C-SPAN, showing Biden’s arrival in Japan. In the footage, Biden is seen walking down the stairs from Air Force One, struggling with a large black umbrella in the rain.
As Biden is greeted by Kenji Yamada, Japan’s state minister for foreign affairs, and other dignitaries, he keeps the umbrella closed under his arm. Observing that the president is getting wet, several individuals nearby hold their umbrellas over Biden until he finally manages to open his own.
Accompanying the video, the RNC wrote: “It took Biden almost a minute to figure out how to open his umbrella after landing in Japan in a torrential downpour.”
The tweet has garnered 130 retweets and more than 42,000 views, according to Twitter statistics.
Conservative activist Benny Johnson further shared the RNC’s tweet with his 1.5 million followers, adding: “Umbrella – 1 Joe Biden – 0.” This post received 163 retweets and over 108,000 views.
The Post Millennial, a right-wing Canadian online magazine, also retweeted the video, commenting: “Biden struggles with umbrella after landing in Japan.”
However, some Twitter users responded by suggesting that the RNC was overly focused on a trivial incident. Mary Pucci, a user from Wisconsin, wrote: “Oh no! Umbrella gate! How awfulllllll! Maybe large Marge [Marjorie Taylor Greene] can add this to her articles of impeachment.”
Another user added: “He focused on the people before messing with the umbrella. This is called manners, which is probably why you were so stumped by the scene.”
