Fact Check: Was Joe Biden on Air Force One With 'Little Boy'?

Spurious and baseless rumors about President Joe Biden's private affairs have been a hallmark of the misinformation that has followed him throughout his term in office.

Claims that his wife, Jill, was a 15-year-old babysitter for the president's family before they were married were recently debunked by Newsweek. They are part of a pattern of false stories that have tried to paint the president in a lurid light.

This week, while Biden was leaving Air Force One, a viral Twitter post asked why he had been pictured leaving the aircraft with a "little boy."

The Claim

The tweet by user @ProudElephantUS, posted Thursday, included a video viewed 1.5 million times. The tweet read: "What was Joe Biden doing with this little boy coming down the Air Force One stairs with him that is dressed in a girls romper?"

The Facts

The tone of this message feeds into a stream of false, conspiratorial narratives claiming that Biden has abused children. The implication is that his appearance with this "little boy" was unusual or should be treated suspiciously.

Not only is that narrative completely false but so is the claim that the president was with a "boy" in the first place.

The person pictured with Biden in the video is Natalie Biden, his granddaughter, who flew to Nevada with her grandfather as he met with Democratic leaders to discuss lowering prescription drug costs, KSNV-TV, an NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, reported.

Natalie, 18, is the daughter of the president's late son Beau Biden and Hallie Biden.

Whatever the reason for making this claim, which is cruel to both Bidens, the fact that the young person is Natalie is easily verifiable since multiple news reports identified her.

The president also brought his granddaughter to San Diego as he signed a nuclear submarine deal with the U.K. and Australia, reported the Daily Mail.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about Natalie's appearance on Air Force One on Monday.

"So Natalie Biden is on—as you know, the president's family tends to travel with him, right?—pretty often. So that's not uncommon," Jean-Pierre said.

"Natalie is on spring break. And so she joined her—she wanted to spend time with her pop. So she joined her pop on this trip."

Jean-Pierre was unable to answer a further question about whether the president or members of his family reimbursed the government for travel expenses.

Natalie has been seen on multiple occasions with her grandfather on presidential engagements, including appearing at a press gaggle (an informal briefing) in June 2022.

Newsweek has contacted the White House via email for comment.

The Ruling

False.

The person in the photo is not a "little boy"— it is Joe Biden's granddaughter Natalie. The video shared on Twitter was filmed in Nevada as the president arrived to talk to Democratic leaders about lowering prescription drug costs. The two were also seen together in San Diego, where Biden met with U.K. and Australian leaders.

Natalie has been photographed with her grandfather during presidential engagements on multiple occasions.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team