It looks like Fox News reporter Peter Doocy did not really get Joe Biden’s trolling, as a short clip of him approaching the presumptive Democratic candidate during a bike ride on Saturday went viral on social media.
Doocy asked a fast-approaching mask-wearing Biden whether he has already picked up a running mate for his presidential ticket and after getting a confident “yes” rushed to ask the politician “who is it?”.
“You!” Biden jokingly replied and rode forward while surrounded by his cycling buddies.
But for Doocy this was enough and he reported on Biden’s first reply as if it were a real scoop:
“So yeah, he did not know the follow-up was coming but he did answer with direct ‘yes, he has picked a running mate’”, the correspondent said.
With the clip getting viral on social media, many found the seriousness behind Doocy’s report quite hilarious, even if Biden indeed has already picked up his VP.
Biden campaign's national press secretary TJ Ducklo soon rushed to assure everybody on Twitter that the politician’s reply was “clearly a joke”.
“When Vice President Biden has made a decision on who his running mate will be, he will let the American people know. And I can confirm, it's not @pdoocy of @FoxNews”, the press secretary sarcastically explained.
Many, however, seemed more surprised by the fact that 77-year-old Biden was actually riding a bike – more so without a helmet – despite recent speculation about possible mental health issues and even reports he could be experiencing dementia. Some social media users joked about a possible bike ride challenge between Joe Biden and President Donald Trump as a part of the upcoming November battle.
Joe Biden is expected to confirm his Democratic Party nomination during the party’s national convention on 20 August. Many now expect that the presumptive candidate will announce his running mate prior to that, with possible candidates for the position including California Senator Kamala Harris and Obama’s former national security advisor Susan Rice.