Flynn Nicholls is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics and society. Originally from New Zealand, Flynn joined Newsweek in 2024 and had previously worked at the Wairarapa Times-Age. He is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington. You can get in touch with Flynn by emailing [email protected]. Languages: English.

According to the facts, observed and verified first through the journalist, or reported and verified through informed sources.

A video of President Joe Biden fumbling the lyrics to “Happy Birthday” during a White House event has gone viral on social media, prompting renewed criticisms of his mental acuity.

The clip, posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday afternoon by the account @RNCResearch, shows Biden trailing off while singing to 17-year-old Eliseo Jimenez, seemingly forgetting or unable to pronounce his name during the song.

The video viewed more than 56,800 times as of Monday morning. Other Republican-affiliated accounts reposted the clip, garnering thousands more views.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email to observe Monday morning.

Biden invited a boy at the level to sing a satisfied birthday, but pronounce his name. What a shame! pic. twitter. com/08roooahk0

The latest incident adds to a series of gaffes by Biden during his presidency, fueling ongoing debates about his age and fitness for office.

The president’s mistakes have a focal point for the Republican complaint, specifically after his selection, ending the functionality of the opposite debate to Donald Trump in June. At the end of July, Biden announced that he was leaving the race and approved Vice President Kamala Harris to update it. In November, Harris lost the opposite elections to Trump.

The @RNCResearch video shows Biden leading the audience in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” at a White House event marking the signing of the Social Security Fairness Act, which will increase Social Security payments for millions of Americans.

The president called Jimenez on to the stage to recognize his birthday. Earlier in the year the teen had walked over 1,600 miles from Lubbock, Texas, to Washington D.C. to advocate for Social Security reform.

Biden began the song confidently but paused awkwardly when he reached Jimenez’s name, mumbling unintelligibly before continuing with the rest of the song. Jimenez appeared embarrassed but laughed off the moment.

“Biden invited a guy at the level to sing a satisfied birthday, but he can’t say his name. What a shame!” The @rncresearch account wrote.

Last year, Biden made several high -level mistakes with the names of people, erroneously referring to Ukrainian President Zelensky as “President Putin” and calling Harris “Vice President Trump”.

Thanks to the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump and the Republican Party have made use of Biden’s problems in their political ads and messaging, calling him weak and senile.

Biden had low approval notes in 2024, which remained below 50% for most of their presidency. Although there were more Americans who approved that those who disapproved when they first hardened in January 2021, this figure sank six months in its presidency in reaction to their control of the American withdrawal of Afghanistan.

President-elect Donald Trump on Truth Social in July 2024: “The Democrats lied and misled the public about Crooked Joe Biden, and now we find he is a complete and total Cognitive and Physical “MESS.””

President Joe Biden in NBC News in July 2024: “I am old. But I only have 3 years more than Trump, No. 1 and No. 2, my intellectual acuity damn for a long time.

Biden is just under two weeks old before retiring at the age of 82 after more than 50 years in politics. Trump, 78, will be back on Jan. 20.

Flynn Nicholls is a Newsweek journalist founded in London in the United Kingdom, his purpose is to inform US politics and society. Originally from New Zealand, Flynn joined Newsweek in 2024 and in the past he had worked at Wairapa Times-Age. He graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington. You can touch Flynn by sending an email to f. nicholls@newSweek. com. Languages: English.

Flynn Nicholls is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics and society. Originally from New Zealand, Flynn joined Newsweek in 2024 and had previously worked at the Wairarapa Times-Age. He is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington. You can get in touch with Flynn by emailing [email protected]. Languages: English.