Photo of Biden lounging on beach was taken months ago, not during Israel war | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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The claim: Photo shows Joe Biden lounging on the beach amid Israel-Hamas war, search for US House speaker

On Oct. 22, rapper 50 Cent posted a photo and a headline to Instagram (direct link, archived link). The screenshot shows President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden reclining on the beach, along with this headline:

“Biden hits the beach with Middle East, Congress in chaos.”

In the post's caption, 50 Cent told the president to get up, adding, "We in trouble man!”

The rapper's post was liked more than 200,000 times. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson reshared 50 Cent's post on Facebook, though it was later corrected to clarify the nature of the photo.

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Our rating: False

The picture of the Bidens at the beach predates the Israel-Hamas war and the search to replace the U.S. House Speaker in Congress. It was taken in August.

Photo of Biden was taken in August on a Delaware beach

The tabloid Daily Mail first published the photo of the Bidens on Aug. 2, showing them at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. The couple was vacationing for a weekend at their beachside home. The Bidens’ other activities included bike riding and watching the summer blockbuster Oppenheimer.

C-SPAN captured a video of the couple from a different angle, showing the Bidens talking to each other under their beach umbrella. The pair were wearing the same clothing from the photo, proving it came from the same day.

While the photo being shared on social media is outdated, the Bidens did spend some time at Rehoboth Beach from Oct. 21-23. A video of the couple walking along the beach went viral, showing them more bundled up consistent with the autumn weather.

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The RNC Research Group posted the October video on X (formerly Twitter), criticizing Biden for being on the beach in the midst of crises. At the time, the Israel-Hamas war was stretching into its third week with a death toll in the thousands, and the House of Representatives remained stalled and without a speaker weeks after the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy.

The White House did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, but White House spokesperson Andrew Bates defended Biden's attention to those issues in an interview with Newsweek,

“As has been the case for the better part of a century, presidents can execute the full range of their duties from anywhere in the world – whether it's a war zone in Israel or 100 miles from the White House in Delaware," Bates said. "Meanwhile, House Republicans were on recess bickering with each other.”

According to the White House, Biden's work that weekend included a public statement on the first delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and calls with Pope Francis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden and Netanyahu also issued an Oct. 22 joint statement on Israel.

USA TODAY reached out to 50 Cent for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Photo of Biden lounging on Delaware beach from August | Fact check