Fact check: Meme uses debunked image to draw misleading Trump-Biden comparison

Devon Link, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Images of Trump with troops and National Guard with backs turned to Biden's motorcade show military prefers Trump

A meme uses two images of then-President Donald Trump speaking at a military event and President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day motorcade to draw a false comparison between Trump and Biden’s relationship with troops.

“Look at the stark difference! Now, we have yet to confirm if the backs towards Biden were intentionally done or it was a security thing but the optics are damaging to him,” the Hip Hop Patriot captioned the meme in a Jan. 21 Facebook post.

USA TODAY has previously fact checked posts by the Hip Hop Patriot, whose real name is Jeremy Herrell.

"We all know, including you that our military supports President Trump over Biden," he wrote USA TODAY in an email. "You won't find pictures of troops with their backs to President Trump. He honors them and they love him for it! Meanwhile, Biden has to search their social media to see if they are loyal to him like a dictator."

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Hundreds of National Guard members were at the U.S. Capitol for security as the House prepared to vote on impeaching President Donald Trump.
Hundreds of National Guard members were at the U.S. Capitol for security as the House prepared to vote on impeaching President Donald Trump.

National Guard turned backs to Biden motorcade because of security protocol

The top image of the meme, taken by photographer Jim Watson, shows the back of Trump's head as he shook service members hands in 2017.

“US President Donald Trump (bottom L-back to camera) greets US troops after speaking during an event with US military personnel at Yokota Air Base at Fussa in Tokyo on November 5, 2017,” reads the caption on Getty Images. “Trump touched down in Japan on November 5, kicking off the first leg of a high-stakes Asia tour set to be dominated by soaring tensions with nuclear-armed North Korea.”

The bottom image comes from a viral video of National Guard members defending Biden’s Inauguration Day motorcade. It shows Guard members facing away from the presidential motorcade on Jan. 20. After pro-Trump rioters attacked the Capitol in a deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, nearly 26,000 troops were called to D.C. to provide additional security during the inauguration.

The video was widely shared and misrepresented by some online as evidence that Guard members disapproved of Biden’s presidency and expressed that view by turning their backs. A USA TODAY fact check found the Guard members stood facing varied directions to protect the motorcade from potential threats, consistent with previous security protocols. USA TODAY rated the video clip as missing context because it was potentially misleading.

Neither the photo nor the video served as evidence that Biden is unpopular among service members.

Fact check: Meme with images of Biden, Trump inaugurations draws false comparison

Our rating: Missing context

We rate a meme that compares then-President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden's relationship with the military MISSING CONTEXT because without additional information the meme could be misleading. The image of National Guard members with their backs turned to Biden's Inauguration Day motorcade shows them carrying out a security protocol.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Misleading comparison about Trump, Biden and military