A claim began circulating online, primarily on X, involving President Joe Biden stepping onto an airplane after a landmark prisoner swap with Russia in earlier this week. The swap involved the release of three Americans: WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Russian-American editor Alsu Kurmasheva.
The three arrived in the United States by plane, landing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just before midnight on August 1. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, family members, press representatives, and others were present to welcome them as they got off the plane. Since then, the claim about Biden boarding the empty plane has gone viral.
What Really Happened
A few minutes after Gershkovich, Whelan, and Kurmasheva disembarked from the plane, and after Biden and Harris answered questions from reporters, Biden climbed the aircraft steps. About two minutes later, he came down from the plane and resumed talking with the released prisoners and their families.
Hours later, on August 2, the X user @amuse shared a video with the headline "Confusion Reigns as Biden Boards Empty Plane."
The post's text read, "Joe Biden climbed back up the stairs of an airplane he wasn't supposed to be on, as Kamala Harris and the Secret Service watched in disbelief. He clearly has no idea where he is or what he's doing."
The user later pinned the post to their page, which garnered over 2 million views and 35,000 likes, according to the social media platform.
The @amuse account's bio starts with the words "Conservative Headlines" and shows support for former U.S. President Donald Trump's reelection, with a note reading "Trump/Vance 2024."
Other users on X made similar claims about Biden boarding the plane, with some speculating—whether seriously or in jest—that Biden might have thought he was boarding Air Force One.
False Claim
However, the claim is completely false. Biden did board the plane but only to speak with the those who helped in bringing back the three freed prisoners home.
Also, Mediaite.com reported that Andrew Feinberg, White House correspondent for The Independent and pool reporter at Joint Base Andrews, confirmed that Biden boarded the plane to greet the people still on board after the freed prisoners got out of the plane.
Another piece of evidence disproving the Biden "empty plane" rumor is a photo hosted on Getty Images, taken by photographer Brendan Smialowski. The caption of the archived image explicitly notes that Biden climbed the plane's stairs at Joint Base Andrews "to talk to the pilot who flew the former prisoners."
In summary, Biden did not board an "empty plane." Video evidence and eyewitness accounts show that Biden entered the aircraft to visit at least one pilot and possibly others who were still on board.
