FACT CHECK: Did Joe Biden 'Fake' His Ford Electric Truck Test Drive?

A slow-motion video clip has been doing the rounds that claims Biden was "faking" this test drive and that the truck was actually being controlled by the person in the passenger seat via a second steering wheel.

A lot has is being talked about President Joe Biden's mental health ever since he was sworn in as the President on January 20, with many Trump supporters even claiming that he is unfit to run the country. The latest claim in this regard was made just a couple of days back when Biden took a tour of Ford's facility at River Rough Complex to test drive the new all-electric F-150 Lightning.

While the moment was largely uneventful many on social media, including some news portals have been claiming that Biden actually faked the test drive by posting a slow-motion video, thus questioning his mental health again. No doubt, Biden attended the event and also took a test drive, many social media users have seen been trying o find out if the President really faked the test drive and whether he is in the best of his health.

Biden Health Questioned?

Biden Test Drive
Joe Biden test driving the electric car YouTube Grab

On Wednesday Biden stopped by the Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, to tour the company's production facility and take a test ride of the new all-electric F-150 Lightning. He spoke to a lot of workers and at the end of the visit, Biden also said that he was a "car guy" and that he would like to test drive the new vehicle.

Without thinking twice Ford made arrangements for Biden to take a test drive. Biden took to the wheels of the new electric vehicle and took the test drive and at the end even said that "this sucker's quick." Understandably, he enjoyed the test drive which was recorded and widely publicized.

The slow-motion clip uploaded by Gateway Pundit claiming that the truck was being driven by the person in the passenger's seat Social media

The event was largely uneventful except for a joke Biden cracked about running over a reported when he approached the President to comment on Israel-Palestine conflict. However, moments after the test drive, some hyper-partisan news outlets and social media personalities started claimed that this video actually documented a deepening conspiracy about Biden's health and that he was not well and he faked the entire test drive.

One among them was the website Gateway Pundit which came up with a slow-motion clip taken from C-SPAN's footage and claimed that Biden was "faking" this test drive by proving that the truck was actually being controlled by the person in the passenger seat via a second steering wheel.

"WOW! Biden Caught Fake Driving — Someone Else Is Steering Vehicle — It Was All a Stunt! — VIDEO and PICS. Following his speech, the declining septuagenarian was put in an electric vehicle where he pretended to be driving. This was all a show by his handlers to make Joe Biden look like he's in charge," the website wrote.

Since then it has raised doubts in the mind of many who believe that Biden is unwell and once again the fake test drive proved it.

What's the Truth?

Biden Test Drive
An enlarged version of the moment Biden took the test drive and the version Gateway Pundit uploaded in the inset Twitter

It must be said that Biden's mental health has been questioned on numerous occasions, with Trump and his supports time and again trying to prove that he is unfit to run the country. This time too it wasn't any different as Gateway Pundit is a hyper-partisan website and took the opportunity to confuse people with the false claims.

Biden did not "fake" drive the truck, and this all-electric vehicle was not equipped with two steering wheels, which was also later confirmed by Mike Levine, Ford North America product communications manager. Levine confirmed to the automative news website Jalopnik that "there was no other set of controls" in the vehicle Biden drove.

However, there definitely was a person in the passenger's seat, which Gateway Pundit has claimed to be the actually driver controlling the panels. In reality the passenger in this video is not holding a steering wheel but a camera.

The passenger was a secret service agent who was simply reaching out to make sure that this camera didn't fall off the dashboard. An enlarged image of the moment proves that the person was holding the camera. Besides, other images exist showing other angles of the drive that make it clear this vehicle didn't have two steering wheels.

The original video further shows clearly that Biden was controlling the wheels. Moreover, the fake drive would have been possible only if the event would have had been well planned in advance. Interestingly, the test drive wasn't scheduled and happened just during the visit. Thus the claim is completely false.

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