“Cheap deepfakes”… the White House blamed the Republicans yesterday, Monday that they are spreading misinformation about President Joe Biden’s physical and mental health after a series of videos were released that reignited concerns about his age.

During a press conference, White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre responded that these videos had been cut or tampered with.

“It shows how desperate the Republicans are,” she said, referring to “cheap deepfakes.”

In recent days, conservative media, mainly the New York Post, but also the official account of the Republican party, have posted on social media short videos showing a confused Biden. In one of them, the 81-year-old Democrat appears completely disoriented during event with parachutistswhich he attended with other leaders during last week’s G7 summit in Italy.

Karine Jean-Pierre responded that the US president simply stepped away from the group of leaders to congratulate a paratrooper, which one can see “if you let the video go a little further”.

Another video that has been widely circulated shows Biden standing impassively as people around him — including US Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband — dance to music at last week’s celebration in White House for Juneteenth.

“The president was there to listen to music and not dance. I’m sorry, I didn’t know that when someone doesn’t dance this proves that he is facing some health problem”, commented Jean-Pierre.g

The latest video to go viral shows Biden at a political event in Los Angeles standing dazed on stage for several seconds before Barack Obama ushers him to the exit.

“The New York Post, once again, has no respect for its readers,” Andrew Bates, also a White House spokesman, complained to X, referring to the newspaper of conservative tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Bates assured that Biden he simply remained on stage to enjoy the applause of his supporters.

The US president’s age worries voters, according to polls, and is a frequent target of criticism from his rival Donald Trump.

However, both Biden and Trump, who are 78, will be the oldest presidents in US history.