President Joe Biden drew attention during a 9/11 remembrance visit to Shanksville, Pennsylvania by briefly donning a “Trump 2024” campaign hat. The act was captured on video and led to a surge of online responses, with many viewing it as an unexpected display of bipartisan unity.
The incident happened at the Shanksville Fire Station, where Biden had visited following his participation in a ceremony at the memorial site for United Airlines Flight 93. This flight was one of the four planes taken over by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
While speaking to firefighters and other attendees at the station, Biden jovially took the campaign hat from a Trump supporter and placed it on top of his own hat for a brief period. White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates explained that this act was carried out in the name of “bipartisan unity,” a concept emphasized by the president earlier that day.
Bates provided further details on social media, stating, “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.” He noted that Biden, in a gesture of goodwill, gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then suggested the president wear his Trump cap in the same spirit. Biden briefly complied.
The image of Biden wearing the red Trump hat spread rapidly on social media, causing a stir among users. Doubts about the authenticity of the video surfaced, with some speculating it could be AI-generated or edited. However, conservative commentator Carmine Sabia was quick to confirm the video’s legitimacy, tweeting, “No, this is not AI. This is President Joe Biden donning a Trump 2024 hat.”
Other public figures joined in, sharing light-hearted comments on the incident. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis humorously suggested that Biden might be voting for Trump, while Will O’Grady, press secretary for Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt, quipped, “Joe Biden is gonna get prosecuted by his own DOJ now.”
This unusual interaction occurred on a day of solemn remembrance. Alongside Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump attended multiple ceremonies to honor the victims of the September 11 attacks. During the day, Biden emphasized the need to revive the post-9/11 spirit of cooperation, when political divisions seemed to soften as the nation united in mourning and rebuilding.
Despite differing responses to Biden’s hat exchange, the White House emphasized that it was a deliberate act to bridge political divides. Bates reiterated that the gesture was an attempt by the president to underscore his earlier message of bipartisan unity.
While some appreciated the gesture, others viewed it with skepticism or humor. The incident quickly became a hot topic across media platforms. Conservative commentator Piers Morgan chimed in, tweeting, “Joe Biden just put on a Trump 2024 campaign cap. This is not a joke… he really did,” along with a playful monkey-covering-eyes emoji.
