FACT CHECK: Viral Image Claims To Show Joe Biden Kneeling In Protest After Seeing An American Flag
An image shared on Facebook over 3,200 times purportedly shows former Vice President Joe Biden kneeling in protest after seeing an American flag during a visit to his hometown.
Verdict: False
Video shows that Biden was actually kneeling down to speak to a child.
Fact Check:
Kneeling has become popular among demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody across the U.S., per The New York Times. Taking a knee as the form of protest against racism and police brutality was sparked by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, according to BBC News.
A viral image alleges Biden engaged in such a form of protest in early July while speaking with residents outside his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. (RELATED: Did Tom Brady Say, ‘If Anybody On This Team Kneels, I Walk’?)
“And he wants to be President of this great Country?” the text accompanying the image reads. “If he will bend a knee to our flag for the mob, what will he also bend for with foreign envisions and other Countries? Wow! Never vote for someone this weak!”
However, Biden was not kneeling as an act of protest. The image, taken by Matt Slocum for The Associated Press, shows Biden as he “kneels to talk with a child” during the July 9 visit, according to the caption. C-SPAN footage from the visit also shows him kneeling to speak with a young child, seemingly to put himself at eye-level.
In a video published by the Daily Mail, an American flag can be seen flying outside a house in the background. But Biden appears to give his attention to the conversation with the child, not the flag, the video shows. Before standing up and thanking the crowd to leave, he asks the child, “How are you? How old are you? This many?”
While Biden did not kneel as a form of protest during that visit, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has previously done so in solidarity. In early June, Biden knelt with demonstrators at an event in Delaware, according to the Washington Post.
