Far-right pundit Ben Shapiro was roasted online after he called a photo of President Joe Biden's 81st birthday cake—topped with 81 candles—"one of the worst campaign blunders he's ever seen."
The President had shared the photo of himself on Instagram in front of a cake that can best be described as a bonfire given the sheer number of candles burning on top of it.
You can see the photo below.
Shortly afterward, Shapiro responded to the celebratory photo with the following message on X, formerly Twitter:
"This is legitimately one of the worst campaign blunders I have ever seen. Everything about it is idiotic. He's gripping the table as though he's about to keel over."
"He's got the rictus smile, illuminated by fire. This cake looks like somebody set the world on fire. Which he did."
You can see Shapiro's post below.
Shapiro later added that Biden "looks like he's about to make a deal for your soul. It's like an outtake of Al Pacino from The Devil's Advocate."
You can see his post below.
That was a reach even for Shapiro—and people mocked him profusely.
The President's 81st birthday celebration was a quick footnote amid a host of different issues that have demanded the White House's attention, particularly the impact of the Israel-Hamas war and his recent summits with leaders from Asia, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere.
Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, even issued a statement to reporters that focused more on his accomplishments than on the milestone, noting the President "passed legislation that has helped to create more than 14 million jobs, lower prescription drug costs, invest in America’s infrastructure and technology and led to the strongest economic recovery in the developed world."
But that didn't stop Fox News from riling conservatives by running a piece about the "fire hazard" posed by the birthday cake that highlighted social media posts from conservatives who said the cake represented "the economy" and bemoaned the "carbon emissions" released by all the candles.