She's not as strong as me: Lip-reader decodes viral Biden-Obama exchange

A video featuring an exchange between US President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama has become all the rage on social media in the last couple of days. Some have suggested that the video shows Obama "pulling up" and "scolding" Biden, even though the topic of their discussion is quite unclear.

Now, according to a professional lip-reader who spoke to NY Post, the video features Biden telling Barack Obama "she is not as strong as me", with Obama agreeing, "That’s true". The unnamed "she" could be a reference to Vice-President and 2024 Democractic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

This exchange was deciphered by Jeremy Freeman, a forensic expert from London with over 16 years of experience as a certified expert witness, based on the conversation between the two that took place at a memorial service for Ethel Kennedy in Washington, just weeks ahead of the November 5 election.

According to Freeman, in the video Biden says, "She’s not as strong as me", to which Obama responds, “I know... that’s true. We have time.”

Biden then adds, “Yeah, we’ll get it in time.”

Earlier in the conversation, Obama appeared to hint at joining Harris on the campaign trail, stating, "It's important that we have some time together."

Freeman characterised the exchange as "very supportive", noting that, despite Obama shaking his head at one point in the video, there was no visible tension between the two. The conversation seemed focused on the upcoming election and their strategy for moving forward, according to the New York Post.

'RIDICULOUS'

Reactions to the lip-reading translation have been mixed among Democratic insiders. Some see it as a candid assessment of concerns about Harris’s strength as a candidate, while others questioned the accuracy of the transcript.

“From the outset, there has been widespread concern that Harris was not a strong alternative to Biden, who clearly was a sinking ship,” one Democratic source told the New York Post.

However, Biden’s team swiftly dismissed the report.

“A ‘lip reading expert’? Did your usual right-wing soothsayer have their out-of-office up? Only President Biden and President Obama know what they discussed, but this certainly wasn’t it,” said Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates.

A source close to Obama did not deny the translation but dismissed any outside interpretations of the conversation as "ridiculous".

Former Biden White House officials, now supporting Harris’s campaign, expressed disbelief over the lip-reading transcript. One suggested “a new lip reader” be consulted, while another argued that it didn’t match Biden’s character.

Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate against Republican candidate Donald Trump, 78, initially saw a surge in polling following Biden’s withdrawal, but her momentum has become neck-and-neck in key swing states.

Biden’s decision to exit the presidential race came after his poor performance in a June 27 debate with Trump was widely criticised. Following the debate, pressure mounted from within the Democratic Party for Biden to step aside. On July 21, Biden withdrew and endorsed Harris as the Democratic candidate for president.