Did President Joe Biden wander aimlessly away from a group of world leaders during a skydiving demonstration at the Group of Seven summit? No, that's not true: Biden did take a few steps away from the group, but it was to give a thumbs up to the paratrooper adjacent to the group who was collecting his gear. The Folgore paratroopers of the Italian Army dropped in over a golf club in southern Italy on the first day of the annual summit, carrying flags of the G7 countries, the European Union and the 2024 G7 Summit.
The video clip appeared in a post on X (archived here) by BRICS News on June 13, 2024. It was captioned:
🇺🇸 President Joe Biden is completely lost at the G7 Summit.
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thu Jun 13 23:39:06 2024 UTC)
The screenshot (above) from the 31-second-long video clip posted on X appears to show Biden wandering away. However, the last of the paratroopers had just landed (he is pictured in the foreground), and just out of the frame there were several other paratroopers who Biden was acknowledging with a thumbs up. In the screenshot below, taken at 8:58 minutes in on the video posted to YouTube by the G7 Italy 2024 channel, it is possible to see the people who are not in the frame in the screenshot above. The last paratrooper, who flew in with the G7 Italia 2024 flag, lands at 9:26 into the video, and it is only then that Biden turns to acknowledge the paratrooper nearby.
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Thu Jun 13 23:39:06 2024 UTC)
At the 9:50-minute mark Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni directed Biden's attention back to the group as the ceremony was not over. An officer gave a short presentation about the skydiving they had just seen and then at 12:59 minutes in, a receiving line was formed so that each paratrooper could shake hands with each world leader. Finally at 14:47 minutes in a small G7 Italia 2024 banner signed by all the world leaders was given to the paratroopers.
Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto posted proudly about the precision maneuvers on June 13, 2024, and this was reposted on X by the Italian Army (pictured below). The translation from Italian provided by Google reads:
What a spectacle and what a thrill to see the Folgore paratroopers land with absolute precision in front of the G7 leaders in Borgo Egnazia, who looked at them in admiration and warmly thanked them.
They each carried the flag of all the G7 countries, the EU and the Italian presidency!
Thank you guys!
Proud of you!
And long live the army and the armed forces that contribute to the security of the G7 but also know how to amaze and amaze!
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thu Jun 13 23:39:06 2024 UTC)
Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims involving Joe Biden can be found here.
