President Biden interacts with Trump supporter, wears Trump 2024 hat in Shanksville

President Biden's recent visit to a Shanksville, Pennsylvania, firehouse on the 23rd anniversary of September 11 took a light-hearted turn during an interaction with a Trump supporter. 

The encounter, captured and widely circulated on social media, involved a spirited exchange of hats and playful banter that provided a moment of levity.

While engaging with first responders and attendees, President Biden was offered a red "Trump 2024" hat by a supporter, who was wearing "Punisher" suspenders. 

The exchange started with Biden offering his own hat in return, featuring the presidential seal. "I’ll give you my presidential hat," Biden proposed, to which the man requested Biden's signature as a condition for the trade.

The conversation took a humorous dive as Biden, referencing his age, quipped, "I don’t remember my name," and added, "I’m slow." 

The supporter responded by playfully calling Biden an "old fart," a term Biden acknowledged, saying, "I’m an old guy."

The banter continued with the supporter teasing, "You’re an old fart, right?" Biden retorted, "I know you would know about that," indicating the supporter's own age.

As Biden signed the hat, he reminisced, "He reminds me of the guys I grew up with. There was always one in the neighborhood." 

The interaction culminated with Biden briefly placing the Trump hat over his own, eliciting laughter and cheers from those present. 

The supporter expressed his approval, saying, "I’m proud of you now, you old fart." Biden humorously concluded the interaction with, "Just remember, no eating dogs and cats," to which the supporter jokingly replied, "They’re good," likening them to "Kentucky Fried Chicken."

This moment was quickly utilized by political campaigns, with the Trump-Vance campaign sharing footage suggesting Biden’s wear of the Trump hat symbolized a shift following the recent political debate. 

The White House emphasized the bipartisan nature of the gesture, with White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates explaining on X, "At the Shanksville Fire Station, @POTUS spoke about the country’s bipartisan unity after 9/11 and said we needed to get back to that. As a gesture, he gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then said that in the same spirit, POTUS should put on his Trump cap. He briefly wore it."

This visit to Shanksville, located in a heavily Republican area, underscored ongoing efforts to bridge political divides, even in brief, informal settings.