The internet lit up Sunday as online sleuths speculated whether former President Joe Biden had been photoshopped into his family’s Easter photo.
Biden, 82, shared an image on X showing his family gathered on a set of steps in Delaware, noticeably without his embattled son, Hunter Biden.
The former president appeared to be seated on the top step wearing a blue suit, but social media users quickly questioned whether the 82-year-old was actually present for the photo.
“X users noted Biden’s strange hand placement, the lighting on his face and his overall positioning, making it unclear if he’s crouching or sitting behind his family,” the New York Post reported. Jill Biden’s hair appears altered on the right side, where her husband’s suit is, raising concerns.
“I mean this is obviously photoshopped right? Is he supposed to be standing? Crouching down? This doesn’t even look like a plausible physically position guys,” one social media user wrote.
“This is photoshop. Biden face is brightly lit from top/bottom. Everyone else’s is diffused (shaded) Biden has no discernible shadow. Jill casts a shadow, Biden does not. Super awkward body position. Head size doesn’t match depth line. Is [Joe Biden] alive?” wrote another.
“Is your forearm 4ft long?” another said. “With your arm at that angle, it’s physically impossible for those to be your fingers. Who the hell is doing this crappy Photoshop job?”
Tennessee Star reporter Tom Pappert asked: “Why is Biden wearing a full suit and tie and TV makeup for this loving family photo”?
“Dude all politics aside, this is so bizarre. I don’t understand the [special] arrangement of Joe in this picture. Everyone in the back row of the photo *except Joe* appears to be sitting. So why isn’t he towering over them? Are we supposed to believe he’s sitting or something?” wrote yet another X user.
We wish everyone celebrating today a peaceful and joyful Easter. pic.twitter.com/GQNsdZNaw1
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 20, 2025
Others, however, were skeptical that the former president was Photoshopped into the picture.
“I don’t think Biden was actually photoshopped into this pic (the hand is on the guy’s back in front of him), but he still looks as photoshopped as they come. If they were gonna photoshop him in, they would definitely have made it look less obvious,” wrote social media user RedEaglePatriot.
The photoshop speculation follows years of claims from White House staffers that the former president was in excellent physical condition—claims that were cast into doubt after Biden’s widely criticized performance in his first and only 2024 presidential debate against former President Donald Trump.
Subsequent reporting and at least two books released following Biden’s term revealed that staffers hid his deteriorating mental status essentially his entire presidency.
According to The Wall Street Journal, aides to Biden colluded to prevent the public from knowing just how substantial his mental decline was, and that the effort to cover it up actually began during his 2020 presidential campaign and continues to this day.
“To adapt the White House around the needs of a diminished leader, [aides] told visitors to keep meetings focused. Interactions with senior Democratic lawmakers and some cabinet members—including powerful secretaries such as Defense’s Lloyd Austin and Treasury’s Janet Yellen—were infrequent or grew less frequent,” the WSJ reported. “Some legislative leaders had a hard time getting the president’s ear at key moments, including ahead of the U.S.’s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.”
“Senior advisers were often put into roles that some administration officials and lawmakers thought Biden should occupy, with people such as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, senior counselor Steve Ricchetti, and National Economic Council head Lael Brainard and her predecessor frequently in the position of being go-betweens for the president,” the outlet added.
