Did President Joe Biden blame Elton John for the U.S. spending taxpayer money to "fight AIDS"? No, that's not true: There is missing context to this video. A transcript of this event shows that Biden is praising John. Both the audience and John applaud Biden's sentiments.
The claim appeared on Instagram on January 1, 2023. The caption read:
Flashback to one of the most insulting moments of 2022.
The text, above and below a video displaying first lady Jill Biden, Sir Elton John and Biden, reads:
BIDEN SAYS IT'S ELTON JOHN'S FAULT WE'RE SPENDING TAXPAYER MONEY TO FIGHT AIDS WHILE ELTON CLAPS ALONG
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Tue Jan 3 18:22:09 2023 UTC)
The claim implied that Biden was insulting John in stating it was John's fault that $6 billion of taxpayer money were being spent to fight AIDS. While the audio does match the text in the video, a longer version of this clip shows Biden was praising John.
Applause and praise are seen and heard in the September 24, 2022, YouTube video published by C-SPAN.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation also acknowledged the event as an honor in its September 26, 2022, press release.
