A photo of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden with a group of dancers in Miami has been making waves on social media.
“Taking a knee during the National Anthem!! Let that sink in…A PRESIDENTIAL candidate taking a KNEE during our NATIONAL ANTHEM!!!” reads a recent post. “TAKING A KNEE for the very freedoms you claim you are going to protect and defend!! NO THANKS!!”
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The photo shows Biden kneeling next to his wife, Jill Biden. A group of dancers wearing colorful dresses and face masks posed behind him in front of a mural.
The photo that went viral was taken by Jacqueline Charles, the Miami Herald’s Caribbean correspondent. Similar photos were also taken the same day by Andrew Harnik for the Associated Press, and appear in the AP’s image gallery.
Both Charles and Harnik said the national anthem was not playing at the time Biden was kneeling. (Biden’s campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
Charles told PolitiFact and the Miami Herald that someone asked for a photo with Biden and the dance troupe in the background. She didn’t ask Biden why he was kneeling and didn’t think it was unusual, she said. They were trying to maintain social distance and capture everyone in the photo.
“Of all the photos taken today of #Biden’s appeal to #Haitian voters, it’s interesting this one is going viral,” Charles tweeted on Oct. 5.
Controversy over taking a knee during the national anthem began in 2016, when NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat or knelt during the pregame ritual as a form of protest against racial injustice and police brutality. Some other NFL players followed his lead. Critics denounced the gesture as disrespectful or unpatriotic.
A similar claim on Facebook was made when Biden knelt in Nevada during a group photo with performers at the East Las Vegas Community Center on Oct. 9.
Our ruling
The Facebook post claims that Biden took a knee during the national anthem, using a photo from an Oct. 5 event at the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami.
Biden knelt during a group photo with performers, who stood behind him. The photo was taken by a Miami Herald correspondent. Two journalists present at the event confirmed that the national anthem was not playing at the time.
We rate this claim False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
• Joe Biden was photographed kneeling during an Oct. 5 campaign stop in Miami.
• The national anthem was not playing at the time, two journalists present at the event confirmed.
• The photo was taken at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, where Biden posed with dancers standing behind him.
Statement
Context
a Facebook postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Facebook post, Oct. 10, 2020
Twitter post, Oct. 5, 2020
Getty Images, accessed Oct. 13, 2020
AP Images, accessed Oct. 13, 2020
Snopes, "Did Biden Kneel in Protest During the National Anthem?" accessed Oct. 13, 2020
The Miami Herald, "Fact check: Biden did not kneel during the national anthem," accessed Oct. 13, 2020
The New York Times, "Eric Reid: Why Colin Kaepernick and I Decided to Take a Knee," accessed Oct. 13, 2020
Facebook post, Oct. 11, 2020
AP Images, accessed Oct. 13, 2020
Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Biden slams Trump, courts Latinos in Las Vegas," accessed Oct. 13, 2020
Translations
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