Investigations into Hunter Biden and his foreign business dealings, emboldened by the Republican's reclamation of Congress' lower chamber, have renewed interest in the president's family history.
Probes into his son's career and financial ties have been a campaign article for some time, drawing hope among conservatives that a House investigation might finally settle the suspicions they've shared for years.
As the GOP's efforts pick up steam, it appears that others have attempted to dig into other aspects of Biden's family history too.
The Claim
A tweet, posted on December 4, 2022, which appears to show president Joe Biden with Jill Biden, alleges that the First Lady worked as the "Biden family babysitter" when she was 15, before the death of Joe Biden's first wife.
The post, which has received more than 44,000 engagements, includes accompanying message that states "A well suppressed photo, Joe Biden in his 30's and Dr. Jill at 15. Before the death of Joe's first wife... his friendly 'acquaintance' with this future 'Doctor' was already well established as Jill was the Biden family babysitter. 'Doctor' Jill Biden, is now our reigning First Lady. -J."
Is this for real? https://t.co/yJ8mUJ3w3v
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) December 4, 2022
The Facts
There's no evidence that Jill Biden was ever Joe Biden's family babysitter, nor was she 15 when this photo was taken.
According to a White House biography, Jill Biden was born in June 1951 and met Joe Biden in June 1975 when she was 23 and he was 32.
Both Jill and Joe were married before they first met.
The president was married to his first wife Neilia from 1966 until 1972, when she died in a car crash alongside their firstborn daughter Naomi.
Jill married former college football player Bill Stevenson in 1970, divorcing him five years later.
In his 2007 autobiography Promises to Keep, the then-Vice President wrote about seeing his future wife in a series of ad campaign photos.
"I first noticed Jill Jacobs on a Friday night in March 1975. Actually, I first noticed photographs of Jill Jacobs in March 1975, at the airport in Wilmington," he wrote.
"I was still commuting back and forth to Washington, usually by car, sometimes on Amtrak, and occasionally on the forty-minute flight from Washington National to the airport in Wilmington.
"This particular Friday, March 7, I saw in the airport terminal a newly mounted ad campaign for the New Castle County Park system; it was beauty shots of the county parks, with the same girl in a few of the photographs.
Read more
- Fact Check: Claims about 'John Podesta art' reappear amid Balenciaga uproar
- Fact check: Was Naomi Biden's White House wedding shoot "staged"?
- Zuckerberg, Hunter Biden, Facebook and FBI—What We Do Know, What We Don't
- Hunter Biden, China and BHR—What We Do Know, What We Don't
"She was blond and gorgeous. I couldn't imagine who was looking at trees with her in the photograph. I remember thinking to myself, that's the kind of woman I'd like to meet."
Jill Biden posted the photo of her and Joe on Twitter in August 2020 with the caption "'How did you get this number?' Those were the first words I spoke to Joe when he called me out of the blue on a Saturday in 1975. I'll be speaking tonight at the #DemConvention. I hope you'll tune in!"
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) August 18, 2020"How did you get this number?"
Those were the first words I spoke to Joe when he called me out of the blue on a Saturday in 1975.
I’ll be speaking tonight at the #DemConvention. I hope you’ll tune in! pic.twitter.com/t0amDEM2kT
According to a The Philadelphia Inquirer article (archived here), the Biden campaign dated the photo to 1976, the same year Dr. Biden, who was then around 24-25 years old at the time, began teaching English at St Mark's High School in Wilmington.
There is no evidence to suggest that she ever babysat for the Bidens.
The pair were married the following year in New York City.
There is no other evidence presented alongside the babysitting claim on Twitter, and none that Newsweek could find, that suggests the accounts provided by the Bidens and The White House are inaccurate or misleading.
The side claim that the photo has somehow been "suppressed" is also provably false, as the First Lady herself shared (a better quality version of it) on Twitter.
Newsweek has contacted The White House for comment.
The Ruling
Misleading Material.
The photo does not show Jill Biden when she was 15 nor was she the Biden family babysitter before the president's first wife Neilia died. Joe and Jill met in 1975 while the then-senator was 32 and Dr. Biden was 23.
According to the Biden campaign, the photo shared on Twitter was taken in 1976, a year before they were married.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
");jQuery(this).remove()})jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')}if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})
