Fact Check: Did Jill Biden collect $1.7 million during her time at the White House?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following the announcement that former President Joe Biden’s cancer had spread to his bones, a rumor began circulating on social media claiming that former First Lady Dr Jill Biden had collected $1.7 million in reimbursable expenses during her time at the White House. The claim sparked speculation online, with users calling for a fact check.
According to the viral post, an internal audit had allegedly revealed that Joe Biden's wife accumulated the expenses over the four years of his presidency. The claim also alleged that Jill Biden had spent $250,000 exclusively on ice cream, prompting criticism and calls for an investigation.
Claim: Jill Biden collected $1.7 million in White House expenses
According to the claim, Joe Biden's wife accumulated a staggering $1.7 million in reimbursable expenses over four years.
The claim suggested that while it is customary for First Ladies to incur expenses as part of their official duties, the nature of some of Jill Biden's alleged claims had triggered doubts about the expenses. It further claimed that the amount was five times higher than that of any other First Lady.
The claim also alleged that $250,000 had been spent exclusively on ice cream.
The allegation triggered both mockery and criticism online, with many calling for a probe into the alleged expenses. Others dismissed the claim as fake, prompting a fact check.
Fact Check: No credible evidence supports Jill Biden expense claim
The claim, however, is false, as the post originated from a Facebook parody account called ‘America's Last Line Of Defense,’ whose bio states, ‘Nothing on this page is real.’
Additionally, there are no credible publicly available reports, statements, or announcements from the White House supporting the allegation that Jill Biden accumulated $1.7 million in reimbursable expenses.
The post also did not provide evidence of the alleged internal audit or documentation supporting its claims about Jill Biden's expenses.
Further searches on Google and Bing did not yield any credible results supporting the claim. Hence, the claim is rated as false and appears to have been made for engagement.
Jill Biden reveals Joe Biden's cancer has spread to his bones
The claim surfaced after Dr Biden revealed on Friday that her husband's stage 4 prostate cancer had spread to his bones, but assured listeners that the former president would be okay.
"He's doing okay," she said during an appearance on Kelly Ripa's podcast ‘Let's Talk off Camera.’
"That diagnosis can be cured: You can go through radiation or whatever. You can be cured, and you'll be fine. Unfortunately for Joe, it metastasized to his bones, which means that he will forever live with cancer."
She went on to say, “Anybody who's gone through this cancer journey, and I've been through it many times with members of my family, it's constant, it's daily, and it's challenging."
The revelation about Biden's health coincided with the spread of the unrelated claim about Jill Biden's alleged White House expenses. However, the $1.7 million allegation was not supported by credible evidence and originated from a page that explicitly identified itself as a parody account.
