Oh, you can’t make this stuff up. Joe Biden—yes, that Joe Biden—briefly sporting a red “Trump 2024” hat? It’s the kind of headline that sounds like it was pulled from the latest satirical news site, but it happened, and naturally, the internet had a field day.
On the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, during a visit to the Shanksville, Pennsylvania fire station, the president decided to get in on the “unity” vibe, briefly donning a MAGA hat, in what the White House called a “gesture of bipartisanship.”
Now, we’ve seen Biden in plenty of awkward moments over the years, but this one might take the cake. A Trump supporter in the crowd asked him to wear the hat—Biden, in a surprising move, went along with it. Of course, this exchange was full of the kind of witty banter you’d expect.
The Trump supporter sarcastically questioned whether Biden even remembered his own name, to which Biden responded with self-deprecating humor, “I don’t remember my name… I’m slow.” The supporter took it up a notch, calling the president “an old fart,” to which Biden replied with, “Yeah, I’m an old guy… You would know a lot about that.”
And then, there it was—the big moment. The crowd, eating it all up, chanted, “Put it on!” And Biden, always the crowd-pleaser, did just that. You could almost hear the collective gasp of every political strategist from Washington to Mar-a-Lago.
This is charming. It is also telling. Biden has spent years telling us that Trump is a deep threat to the Republic, a Hitler-in-waiting. He doesn’t believe that. He’s been lying. If he truly thought that, nothing — not even politics — could make him put on that hat. https://t.co/Psqh5RrPUT
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 12, 2024
The image of Biden in that iconic red hat spread across social media like wildfire. Trump’s campaign wasted no time poking fun at the situation with TrumpWarRoom’s snappy response, “Kamala did so badly in last night’s debate, Joe Biden just put on a Trump hat.”
🚨BREAKING: Kamala did so bad in last night’s debate, Joe Biden just put on a Trump hat. pic.twitter.com/OzgCRKIbKp
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 11, 2024
Now, let’s be clear: this wasn’t Biden’s first brush with MAGA merch. Two years ago, at the very same Shanksville stop, Biden was photographed standing next to young girls donning Trump hats and shirts. But, this time around, the timing—right in the thick of an election season—made the moment all the more surreal. Could you ever imagine Donald Trump sporting a “Biden-Harris” cap? Yeah, no. Trump in Kamala gear is about as likely as him showing up to a Democratic fundraiser.
BREAKING: Photo of Joe Biden looking absolutely shook surrounded by Pennsylvania kids rocking Trump and MAGA gear.
Zoom in. The shirts on these kids are incredible. Love this energy 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xT6Io8AGJQ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 11, 2024
But in the spirit of bipartisanship, or at least some good old-fashioned trolling, Biden went along with the gag. The big question is, does this move signal any sort of political shift? Probably not. But in a time when both sides can barely agree on the color of the sky, it’s nice to see a brief moment of levity, however strange it may seem. And as Biden and Trump gear up for another round in 2024, rest assured, this image won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
