Handsome, not Hunter, photographed near Joe Biden in 1973 photo

The Claim: The image shows Joe Biden using his son Hunter for a photo op in 1973.

A December 2 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of an X post that includes a black and white image of President Joe Biden being sworn in for his first term as a U.S. senator from Delaware.

“This is Joe Biden taking the oath of office in the Senate,” the X message read. “This little boy is Hunter. He suffered a fractured skull and brain damage from the car accident. Joe made her dress up for a photo shoot because he thought it would be good for her career. I hate Joe. Please Hunter. Kid never had a chance.

The Facebook post was shared more than 900 times in 11 days. Post X has been reposted over 2,000 times in the same period.

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Our rating: False

The image shows Biden’s oldest son, Beau, not his youngest son, Hunter. It was taken in 1973 when Biden was sworn in to the Senate at a Delaware hospital so he could be with his two sons, who were recovering after being injured in a car crash that killed his first wife and young daughter.

Biden sworn in weeks after wife and daughter died in car crash

On December 18, 1972, Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and their 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car accident. The couple’s two sons, Beau, 4, and Hunter, 3, were also seriously injured.

A month earlier, Biden unseated incumbent Republican Sen. J. Caleb Boggs, who had been one of Delaware’s senators for more than a decade. Biden considered leaving his new Senate seat, but instead took the oath of office about two weeks later while standing in the chapel of a Delaware hospital with his two sons nearby.

But that’s not Hunter in the black-and-white image — it’s Biden’s other son, Beau. The image was taken by an Associated Press photographer on January 5, 1973, and the caption says the young boy in the foreground is Beau, not Hunter. A similar photo from Getty Images also identifies the boy as Beau.

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At the time, Beau was still bedridden with a fractured leg, but Hunter had been released from the hospital after being treated for a minor skull fracture, according to excerpts from Jules Witcover’s biography, “Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption,” published by the Washington Post.

Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, when he was 46. In early December, Biden announced he had pardoned Hunter, who had been convicted of federal gun and tax charges. Biden said his son’s conviction was a “miscarriage of justice,” prompting him to backtrack after previously saying he would not pardon his son.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact also refuted this claim.

Our fact-checking sources

Delaware News Journal, December 14, 2022 Joe Biden lost his wife and granddaughter 50 years ago. It changed the course of his life
The Associated Press, January 5, 1973, profile of Joe Biden for the 2020 election
Getty Images, January 6, 1973, Joe Biden takes the oath of office next to his injured son
The Washington Post. On January 11, 2021, Biden, once one of the nation’s youngest senators, will be its oldest president.

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