Conspiracy theories are a dime a dozen in the world of politics, but none quite as outlandish as one recently propagated on Truth Social by a certain well-known political figure. US president Donald Trump, in his evidently boundless quest for controversy, went as far as to claim that Joe Biden, the current commander in chief, is not actually alive, but has been substituted with a collection of high-tech robotic clones.
Trump’s outspaced theory suggests that Biden was supposedly ‘executed’ back in 2020. Since then, incompetent Democrats – blinded either by ignorance or purposeful deception – have allegedly proven unable to discern among Biden clones, doubles, and engineered robotic stand-ins. The notion that Biden is now a figure from science fiction rather than a reality is, by default, ludicrous and without solid evidence.
This clone conspiracy amplifies the existing tradition of wild speculation targeting celebrities like Avril Lavigne and Paul McCartney. These baseless rumour mills, notwithstanding their lack of validity, seem to thrive on contrived visual discrepancies such as changes in eye colour, ear shape, or even signature alterations.
Biden is apparently next on their list. According to this conspiracy, the so-called evidence of his ‘cloning’ includes the aforementioned physical differences and signature changes. In all fairness, every person experiences physical changes over time – it’s called aging! Yet, nothing is too far-fetched for those determined to discredit him, even to the point of weaving tales of farcical military tribunals that supposedly led to his ‘execution’.
This conspiracy has further fuelled the fires of concern around Biden’s health, especially as he recently disclosed his battle with advanced prostate cancer. Not surprisingly, the right-wing factions are all too delighting in pushing this already far-fetched storyline to the moon and back.
As for Biden’s recent health diagnosis, it has only served to feed into the conservatism-led propaganda machine. Unfounded speculation about his health is now rampant among these groups, disregarding the fact that disease can affect anyone regardless of age or job title.
Trump’s following, as expected, have called for an investigation into Biden’s White House-appointed physician after a clean bill of health was allegedly issued in 2024. These enquiries seem needless – it’s well known that medical professionals need to be politically neutral to offer a dispassionate diagnosis.
The outlandish theory championed by Trump is a clear indicator of the lengths some people are willing to go to defame Biden. However, it stands as a testament to the intense divide in American politics more than anything else.
Is Biden a clone, or just another septuagenarian politician trying to lead a nation? The outlandish ‘clone’ theory is — you guessed it — entirely baseless. It’s worth remembering that Biden is merely another human like the rest of us, prone to change, aging, and of course, disease.
Yet the ‘clone’ theory serves a purpose for those bent on discrediting Biden and his party. It becomes a vehicle for fueling political division and mistrust, allowing for loose interpretation of physical changes as ‘proof’ of a grand deception.
Political figures appear to feed this frenzy with glee, wielding conspiracy theories like blunt instruments of division. They spin tales of intrigue, of secret replacements, and of a misled public simply to cast a shadow over an enemy’s reputation.
It’s also worth noting the double standard at play here. Biden’s health has been under the microscope quite harshly, whereas Trump’s followers fail to apply the same skepticism to their leader’s health status. Instead, they choose to fixate on supposed ‘clones’ and ‘doubles’ roaming the White House.
As we delve deeper into this ridiculous theory, it becomes evident that it is just another macabre attempt to discredit the current administration. The fixation on the Democrats’ inability to tell the ‘real’ Biden from his ‘artificial doubles’ simply weaves in more strands to this web of deceit.
Ultimately, we must remember why such a theory exists to begin with. It is a device created to sow doubt, fear, and mistrust amongst the public, with the eventual goal of delegitimizing the current administration and reinforcing political divides.
The question that every sensible person should be asking now is not about whether Biden is a clone or whether his physician lied about his health. It should be about the spread of such malicious and disempowering narratives that merely serve to fuel political polarization and impede productive conversation.