Fact check: Jill Biden didn't comment on Hunter Biden's laptop, as viral post claims
The claim: Jill Biden said 'whatever is on Hunter's laptop is not important'
Earlier this month, the New York Post alleged that it had obtained incriminating emails off the hard drive of a laptop that supposedly belonged to Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden.
Now, a post on Facebook claims that Jill Biden — wife to Joe and stepmother to Hunter — has confirmed that the laptop in question belonged to Hunter.
"I just want to point out — Jill Biden HERSELF admits it IS Hunter’s Laptop," a post reads. "You ready to #WakeUp now?!"
To back up that assertion, the post contains an image of Jill Biden and the following quote, attributed to the former second lady:
"This election ... is about the American people. The American people don’t want to hear these smears against my family. The American people are struggling right now. Whatever is on Hunter’s laptop is not important. These are old stories that have nothing to do with healing this country."
The user behind the post has not responded to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
Half of the quote is real — but it's not the part about the laptop
In reality, Jill Biden said half of the quote that the post attributes to her. It's just not the half about her stepson's laptop.
In an appearance on ABC's "The View" on Oct. 21, Biden spoke about what it felt like to see her family attacked.
"I don’t like to see my son attacked, and certainly I don’t like to see my husband attacked," she said. "But to me, these are distractions."
Then, she started into the quote that the post references:
"This election is not about Joe Biden, or Jill Biden, or Kamala, or Doug. It is about the American people. The American people don’t want to hear these smears against my family. The American people are struggling right now," she said.
She then spoke about the impact of the pandemic on families.
"They’re in the midst of all this chaos. They’re trying to figure out how to put food on the table. They don’t have jobs. They need health care. Americans don’t want to hear this," she said, referring to the attacks on her family.
More: Fact check: Tax returns show Biden amassed wealth since 2017 through speeches and books
The half of the quote about Hunter Biden and his laptop was not in her segment on "The View" — and multiple searches turned up no reports of the quote elsewhere on the internet.
PolitiFact also found no credible sources to corroborate the claim that Jill Biden mentioned a laptop.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, the claim that Jill Biden said "whatever is on Hunter's laptop is not important" is FALSE. Though the first half of her quote about how the upcoming election is "about the American people" is accurate, and came from a recent segment on "The View," the second half is fabricated.
Our fact-check sources:
The Washington Post, Oct. 14, Hunter Biden’s alleged laptop: An explainer
The View, Oct. 21, Tweet
PolitiFact, Oct. 29, No, Jill Biden didn’t say this about Hunter Biden’s laptop
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Jill Biden didn't comment on Hunter Biden's laptop
