FACT CHECK: Did Mike Pence Change His Twitter Cover Photo To One Of Kamala Harris And Joe Biden?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims Vice President Mike Pence recently changed his Twitter cover photo to one of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Verdict: False

Pence does not appear to have changed his Twitter cover photo since early November. The image shows Pence and his wife, not Biden and Harris, according to a spokesperson for Pence.

Fact Check: 

Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress certifying the Electoral College vote when a group of Trump supporters breached the Capitol and temporarily occupied it in protest of the election results, according to The Associated Press. President Donald Trump had previously urged Pence to not certify the election results, though Pence later said in a letter that he did not believe the vice president had the power to reject them, CNBC reported.

Some social media users have suggested that Pence changed his cover photo on Twitter to one showing Biden and Harris, seemingly in response to his disagreement with Trump about approving the election results. But in reality, Pence has not changed his Twitter header image in a few months.  (RELATED: Was Mike Pence Pictured Waving A Confederate Flag?)

He appears to have last changed his Twitter cover photo on Nov. 3. In one archived version of his Twitter account on Nov. 3, it shows Pence and his wife, Second Lady Karen Pence, waving from behind a podium. An archived version of his account from later that day shows that it switched to another photo: a white-haired man in a black coat holding hands with a woman wearing a round hat.

Various archived versions of Pence’s Twitter account from Nov. 4 to Jan. 8, including the day he presided over Congress certifying the Electoral College votes, all show that it has not changed from that photo of the pair holding hands. Devin O’Malley, the vice president’s press secretary, confirmed to Check Your Fact in an email that the cover photo “is of the VP and the Second Lady.”

The image most likely shows Pence at a Nov. 2 campaign rally with his wife in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Images taken at the event from a different angle shows Pence wearing the same coat and his wife wearing the same hat as in his Twitter cover photo. In addition, AP images show the fabric decorations surrounding the stage during the Grand Rapids, Michigan, rally match the ones in the cover image.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
Follow Elias on Twitter Have a fact check suggestion? Send ideas to [email protected].

Trending