US President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris welcomed the American prisoners Gershkovich, Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva released by Russia in the historic prisoner exchange deal on Thursday. Biden, along with Kamala Harris and other top US officials, welcomed the prisoners who landed at Joint Base Andrew, Maryland.
Joe Biden and Harris addressed the press conference before meeting with released prisoners and their family members. Several minutes after Gershkovic, Whelan and Kurmasheva left the plane, Joe Biden walked up the steps of the aircraft, exited two minutes later, and continued speaking with the freed prisoners and their family members.
Hours later, several social media accounts shared the video of the incident and claimed that Joe Biden walked into an empty plane for no reason, while other officials and ministers kept waiting outside for him.
“Joe Biden climbed back up the stairs of an aeroplane he wasn't supposed to be on as Kamala Harris and the Secret Service watched in disbelief. He clearly has no idea where he is or what he's doing,” read an X post by @amuse.
The video of Joe Biden walking into an “empty plane” has gone viral on social media and has sparked numerous reactions among netizens.
So far, there has been no official information about whether the plane was empty when Joe Biden walked into it or the main motive behind it.
According to the fact-checking website Snopes, the plane was not empty at the time when Joe Biden entered, and he boarded the plane to interact with the people who helped bring the three freed prisoners home.
The same can be seen in another live telecast coverage by ‘The Associated Press’ of the event in which Joe Biden is clearly visible talking to someone inside the plane and even shaking hands (at 44.20). Later, he turned left to walk into the cockpit.
In a historic prisoner swap deal between Russia and several Western nations, Moscow handed over Americans Gershkovich, Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to Washington in return for the release of multiple Russian prisoners, including Roman Seleznev, Vladislav Klyushin, etc.
