President Biden briefly donned a “Trump 2024” hat during a visit to a Shanksville, Pa., fire station in what the White House said was intended as a show of unity on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“At the Shanksville Fire Station, @POTUS spoke about the country’s bipartisan unity after 9/11 and said we needed to get back to that,” White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates posted on X. “As a gesture, he gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then said that in the same spirit, POTUS should put on his Trump cap. He briefly wore it.”
Biden put on the hat during a meeting with community members that was closed to the press. A photo of the moment quickly went viral among Republicans, including some who used it to attack Biden’s mental sharpness and his support for Vice President Harris.
“BREAKING: Kamala did so bad in last night’s debate, Joe Biden just put on a Trump hat,” the Trump campaign’s rapid reaction team posted on X.
“Thanks for the support, Joe!” the campaign added in a separate post.
“What’s Happening?” senior Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita posted along with a photo of Biden in the hat.
Biden has spoken often about trying to unite the country and lower the political temperature, even as he has aggressively attacked his predecessor as a threat to democracy. Biden ended his reelection bid in late July and has since been replaced by Vice President Harris, who is locked in a neck-and-neck campaign with Trump.
Biden, Harris, Trump and GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) all attended a Sept. 11 memorial event in New York City on Wednesday morning. Biden and Harris visited Shanksville to honor the victims of Flight 93, while Trump made a stop there later in the day.
