Video altered to make it look like Joe Biden greeted Minnesota during Florida stop
Joe Biden in Minnesota. Really. Image via AP.

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A video included images manipulated to show 'Tampa, FL' on a sign.

It’s an awkward moment when a presidential candidate greets the audience at a rally and names the wrong state.

Fortunately for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, that didn’t happen to him this week, despite a widely shared video that appears to show him saying “Hello, Minnesota” to a crowd in Florida.

It turns out he was, indeed, in Minnesota. The video that was shared had been altered to change the text on a sign and the podium to refer to Tampa instead of Minnesota.

What you need to know about this edited video and the falsehoods spreading around it:

CLAIM: Video shows Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden mistakenly saying “Hello, Minnesota” at a campaign event in Tampa.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The sign behind Biden in this video has been edited to add the words “Tampa, Florida” and remove the words “TEXT MN to 30330.” The podium has also been edited to add “FL” instead of “MN.” Original video from this event confirms that Biden was in Minnesota and addressed the correct state in his greeting.

THE FACTS: An altered video circulating widely on social media appears to show Biden making a cringeworthy mistake: addressing Minnesotans during a campaign stop across the country in Tampa, Florida.

“Hello, Minnesota!” Biden says after taking the stage. Behind him, a sign appears to read, “Tampa, Florida” and “Battle for the Soul of the Nation.”

Biden continues, “Jessica, thank you for being here, for sharing your story.” Then, the 16-second clip ends.

The video had more than 900,000 views on Twitter on Sunday and was spreading quickly the weekend before the U.S. presidential election. However, the words on the sign and the podium in this video have been manipulated. Several sources prove that Biden did not address the wrong state in his greeting and he was indeed in Minnesota.

An original version of the video on C-SPAN shows it was taken during an Oct. 30 campaign stop in St. Paul, Minnesota. The sign did not read “Tampa, Florida,” but instead said “TEXT MN to 30330.” The podium did not read “TEXT FL to 30330,” but instead said “TEXT MN to 30330.”

Several Associated Press images from the event provide additional proof that the sign and podium said “TEXT MN to 30330” and did not include mention of Florida.

There are other contextual clues as well. The video shows Biden wearing a thick coat for Minnesota’s cold climate. At a recent appearance in the warmer Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 29, Biden only wore a suit jacket.

Biden’s reference to someone named Jessica in his greeting was to Jessica Intermill, a Minnesotan with rheumatoid arthritis who spoke about health care at the St. Paul event before Biden took the stage.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Associated Press


5 comments

  • James Robert Miles

    November 1, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    Devious much? That’s the entire Trump administration. Just like their fascistic like blockade if the Biden/Harris bus in Texas. This is what you do when you can’t win fair and square. You resort to intimidation tactics bordering on fascism, something Trump knows how to do best! VOTE HIM OUT< LOCK HIM UP! THROW AWAY THE KEY!! DUMP TRUMP 2020!! Save America from a fascistic dictator wanna-be!!

  • Palmer Tom

    November 2, 2020 at 12:45 am

    It seems the GOP is really desperate to promote the false narrative about Biden’s acuity.

  • Sonja Fitch

    November 2, 2020 at 4:50 am

    Scum bs from the goptrump death cult! Lies from the goptrump death cult! Hate from the goptrump death cult ! These “nazi wannabes”. Shall be voted out! Vote Democrat up and down ballot for the common good!

  • DisplacedCTYankee

    November 2, 2020 at 5:46 am

    Twitter is evil. Facebook and all the rest, too. They are super spreaders of lies and misinformation.

  • Jon

    November 2, 2020 at 2:06 pm

    You guys are so brainwashed! Simply hilarious how you believe everything they tell you! Biden made gaffs all over the place in every gathering of 6 people he went too! It was hilarious! And yes, Twitter, FB and Goggle are practicing first amendment infringement on conservatives. I had my Twitter taken away 3 times until i simple deleted it! FB has routinely censored my posts. But I am not worried, when Trump is re-elected tomorrow, he will remove their ability to hide from behind the 230 law. Then expose them to lawsuits! That will fix their them. I would prefer that we simply broke them up! By the way FloridaPolitics, you guys are guilty of being a propaganda mill. You will be dealt with also!

Comments are closed.


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