Social media users share posts claiming that President Biden did not fly with Air Force One, as a plane he was flying on looks different from the plane President Trump used when he left the White House. Some users claim that this is proof that Biden is not a legitimate president. This assertion is untrue: although Biden uses a smaller air force aircraft, the term “Air Force One” refers to any U.S. Air Force aircraft used by the president. Trump and Obama both used this smaller plane several times while they were president.
The reports (here, here, here, here, here) put together the images of Trump boarding a plane to return to Florida after leaving the White House on Biden’s inauguration day (January 20, 2021) , with images of Biden boarding a plane to Delaware. on February 5, 2021. The captions say: ‘Media lied to you about Joe flying on AF1. Notice the difference ”; “This is Biden’s first ride two days ago on Air Force One, but if you notice … it’s not the real AF1. So … what’s up with that? View real photos of AF1 and compare. “Biden’s Air Force One is not the same as Trump’s Air Force One”; and “HE DIDN’T SPEAK ONE AIR.” Comments on the reports include: ‘Trump is still president’ and ‘he is not the president. Trump won the election. ”
The photos used in the reports do show authentic Air Force One aircraft used by President Biden and former President Trump: the footage from Fox News and the BBC from which the screenshots are taken can be seen here (see last two seconds ) and here. Reuters photos of these trips can be seen here, here and here.
The two levels differ. But the White House website explains that although it is ‘standard’ today to use the term ‘Air Force One’ to refer to one of two Boeing 747-200B series aircraft with the air force designation VC-25 adapted to transport the president, ‘technically’, the term ” Air Force One ” is used to denote any air force aircraft carried by the president. ‘(here).
In the photos in the social media posts, Trump is traveling in the VC-25 Air Force One, the details of which can be seen here and here.
In contrast, Biden travels in a C-32, which is a smaller Boeing 757-200, see here. This aircraft is often used by the Vice President, First Lady and members of the Cabinet and Congress, and is therefore sometimes referred to as ‘Air Force Two’, but the President sometimes uses the smaller aircraft.
Trump himself has used the C-32 on several occasions, as seen in footage from the U.S. military channel and Reuters photos here, here, here and here. Obama also used the C-32, as shown here and here on Reuters photos.
The smaller plane is used for shorter trips to smaller airports with shorter runways, as explained by the New York Times here and a Penn State University blog here.
That would explain why Biden used the C-32 plane for 25 minutes from Washington DC to Delaware (here, here, here).
Allegations that Biden is not the President of the United States are untrue: Article 2, Article 1 of the US Constitution states that the person with the most votes in the Electoral College will be the President (here) and before he ‘on’ the performance of his duties ”he will take the oath. Biden received the most electoral college votes, with 306 against Trump’s 232, a result that was later certified by the US Congress. A video of Biden taking the Oath during his inauguration on January 20 can be seen here and here.
The official library list of past and present presidents (here) and the White House website (here) show that Biden is the current president.
Reuters had earlier unleashed other false evidence used to show Biden was not president, some linked to the unfounded QAnon conspiracy (here, here, here, here).
VERDICT
Untrue. Any air force aircraft with the president is referred to as “Air Force One”. Previous presidents, including Trump, used the smaller C-32 plane that Biden used for the short trip to Delaware.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.