It’s now apparent that President Joe Biden is using a fake set to conduct business — but why?
Social media was abuzz last week after eagle-eyed observers noticed that Biden received his COVID-19 booster shot on something resembling a Hollywood soundstage version of the White House.
As if getting a third dose of the vaccine while wearing a mask wasn’t performative enough already, the setting led many to point out that Biden has a peculiar penchant for political theater.
In an apparent effort to downplay the oddity of it all, PolitiFact noted that the set was not constructed just for him to receive his booster shot but was made for a virtual summit with world leaders held days before. It was built in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the broader White House campus.
Still, it’s strange that it continues to be Biden’s preferred venue. Another virtual meeting was held there Wednesday, this time to discuss raising the debt ceiling with business leaders.
The set became a topic of discussion on social media once again as one glaring detail made it look even more absurdly fake.
“The digital projection window of Biden’s White House set shows flowers in bloom in the Rose Garden,” Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering said. Of course, a blooming flower garden is something of a rarity in Washington, D.C., in autumn.
“The set was constructed across the street from the actual WH in the Executive Office Building,” Spiering noted.
The digital projection window of Biden’s White House set shows flowers in bloom in the Rose Garden.
The set was constructed across the street from the actual WH in the Executive Office Building pic.twitter.com/nBjUaSMhLU
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) October 6, 2021
One Twitter user shared a photo of the event zoomed out to reveal the set in all its glory.
“Biden is using a fake backdrop again,” the tweet was captioned.
Biden is using a fake backdrop again pic.twitter.com/Ma0xZZk1o4
— Jewish Deplorable (@TrumpJew2) October 6, 2021
Political commentator Kambree Kawahine Koa even used the charade to underscore a point about Frances Haugen, the Democratic operative turned Facebook whistleblower whose timely revelations many believe don’t pass the smell test.
“The [Facebook] whistleblower is definitely a Democrat. This feels as staged as Biden’s fake White House backdrop he uses for photo ops,” Koa quipped.
The facebook whistleblower is definitely a Democrat. This feels as staged as Biden’s fake White House backdrop he uses for photo ops.
— Kambree (@KamVTV) October 5, 2021
Even if there’s sound reasoning behind the set — more room, better acoustics, convenience, technological advantages — the optics of speaking from a fake White House just across the street from the real thing lends credence to the feeling that everything about this administration has been carefully manufactured.
Biden is already the beneficiary of some establishment media spit shine despite his myriad failures and political mishaps.
He rarely emerged from his basement during his campaign and seldom goes off-script now that he’s in office, a feat only achievable with masterful behind-the-scenes orchestration.
Biden’s movements are tightly controlled by handlers who want to keep opportunities for him to mess up to an absolute minimum.
Everything about his presidency seems like a big fat lie.
But holding events on a soundstage takes this literal political theater to a surreal new level, putting the finishing touches on an administration built on media magic and little else.