Posts mischaracterize Biden photo with Seattle Storm

Seattle
President Joe Biden holds a jersey as he poses for a photo with the 2020 WNBA Masters Seattle Storm in the East Room of the White House on August 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Storm defeated the Last Vegas Aces in the 2020 WNBA Finals and won their fourth title as a franchise.

Claim: Biden knelt down to impress the Taliban

Social media users have criticized President Joe Biden in the past for taking a knee and linked him to a social justice movement started by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick – he kneeled during the national anthem .

Last year, USA TODAY disproved a claim that Biden knelt down when he saw an American flag when he actually knelt to speak to a child at eye level. USA TODAY also debunked another claim he cut a knee during the national anthem while on a campaign visit in Miami. In July, USA TODAY also debunked an allegation that Biden knelt while meeting with Israeli officials.

The most recent claim is that Biden went down on his knees during a visit to the 2020 WNBA champion Seattle Storm at the White House.

In a Facebook post on August 23, it says: “Biden got down on his knees today. To impress the Taliban (sic.).” The post features a picture of Biden holding a green and yellow jersey and kneeling with the team behind him.

The post collected more than 2,000 interactions in the first week.

A reference to Afghanistan was also heard in tweets.

USA TODAY has asked Facebook and Twitter users for a comment.

Fact check:Quote on Afghanistan, wrongly attributed to Washington Democrats to Donald Trump

The photo of Biden with the players, coaches and executives is authentic, but the claim belies the reason he was kneeling.

Biden knelt down for a photo with the team

On August 24, after the Seattle Storm’s visit to the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki answered questions about the incident.

“We don’t know what happened yesterday,” said a reporter at the briefing. “Did he support the police reform – get on his knees, or did he just kneel?”

In response, Psaki said, “Well the president certainly supports police reform, but he has also taken a photo with a sports team and has kneeled with sports teams on other occasions in the past.”

During the visit, Biden congratulated the team on their work on and off the pitch and highlighted Storm’s Force4Change initiative, which is part of the team’s social justice effort.

But USA TODAY found no evidence to support claims that Biden knelt down for social justice or tried to impress the Taliban.

Fact check:The image of Ron DeSantis posing with a t-shirt that mocks masks has changed

USA TODAY has asked the White House for comment.

Biden has already kneeled down for photos

In early July, the Los Angeles Dodgers visited Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House to celebrate their 2020 World Series title.

Biden and Harris posed for a photo with the team, and the President knelt.

United States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pose with the Los Angeles Dodgers team as they greet the 2020 World Series Champions during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on July 2, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

In May, a Reuters photo showed Biden and First Lady Jill Biden posing for a photo during a Medal of Honor ceremony with Korean War-era Army Col. Ralph Puckett at the White House. Here, too, the President, like the South Korean President Moon Jae-in, kneeled next to a seated puckett.

Last year, Biden visited Rev. Silvester S. Beaman at the Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, where he posed for a photo with the pastor and those in attendance. Reuters pictures also show him kneeling.

Our rating: wrong

Claiming that Biden took a knee to impress the Taliban is FALSE based on our research. The President welcomed the 2020 WNBA Champion to the White House and knelt with the team for a photo. This is not the first time he has kneeled for pictures with a sports team or in any other setting.

Our fact check sources:

  • BBC News Explainers, July 21, Tokyo Olympics: What Takes the Knee and Why Does It Matter?
  • USA TODAY, Jul 30, 2020 fact check: Joe Biden didn’t kneel down when he saw a flag; he was talking to a child
  • USA TODAY, Oct 15, 2020, Meme misrepresents photo of Biden kneeling for a photo at a campaign rally
  • USA TODAY, July 13 fact check: Post misrepresents photo of Biden kneeling with Israeli officials
  • USA TODAY, Aug 23, Seattle Storm visits President Biden at the White House to celebrate the 2020 WNBA title
  • White House on YouTube, Aug 23, President Biden welcomes the Seattle Storm to the White House to honor his 2020 WNBA championship
  • The White House on YouTube, August 25, August 24, 21: Press conference with press officer Jen Psaki
  • The White House Briefing Room, Aug 24, Press Conference by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Aug 24, 2021
  • Seattle Storm, July 24, 2020, Storm launches Force4Change campaign for social justice
  • USA TODAY July 2nd, World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers visits Joe Biden’s White House as first team
  • Reuters Pictures, May 21, Joe and Jill Biden and Korean War Colonel Ralph Puckett
  • Reuters Pictures, May 21, Joe Biden, Ralph Puckett and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-In
  • Reuters Pictures, June 1, 2020, Joe Biden at Bethel AME Church

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