Washington Examiner – by Daniel Chaitin
A viral clip showed a poorly timed graphic of President Joe Biden appearing at the same time a Pittsburgh-area news anchor began reporting about an elderly man accused of inappropriately touching a 12-year-old girl.
The mishap happened in a flash, as the WTAE Channel 4 news team transitioned from a story about a robbery at a Giant store in Eagle Squirrel Hill.
As the camera shot shifted from b-roll at the grocery store to a desk anchor, a graphic appeared in the top-left corner advertising Biden’s State of the Union address set to take place Tuesday evening. But what the anchor reported was not about the president.
“A 71-year-old man was accused of inappropriately touching a 12-year-old girl at the Walmart in West Mifflin Sunday afternoon,” she said. Toward the end of those remarks, a split-second camera angle change showed what appeared to be a troubled-looking colleague before it returned to the anchor sans the Biden graphic.
A clip was posted to social media, which led to a round of jests and mockery at Biden’s expense.
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Biden, who is 79, is set to address a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
Police say the 71-year-old man, identified as Roger Nigriss, has been charged with indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor, according to the news station’s written report. A preliminary hearing is set for March 10.