Reports are shared on social media claiming that Vice President Mike Pence changed his cover photo on Twitter to a photo of the elected president, Joe Biden, and the elected vice president Kamala Harris, after Pence refused to agree to pressure from President Donald Trump to secure Biden’s certification in Congress. This claim about the photo is false: it shows Pence and his wife during a protest on November 2 and it is his cover photo since November 3, 2020.
“Even @mikepence is fed up. He changed his Twitter headline “Biden & Harris” and “not mike pence unfollowing trump and changed his header to a photo of biden / harris”, says some of the posts (here, here), which are a screenshot of Pence’s Twitter cover photo show.
Pence has refused to unilaterally reject state election votes to block the election of President Joe Biden’s certification by Congress, despite pressure from President Trump, who has repeatedly made unfounded allegations of voter fraud in the presidential election (here).
Hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, with four people dying in the chaos, but a few hours later a shocked Congress confirmed the Democratic victory of Democrat Joe Biden on Thursday, January 7 (here).
The photo shown on the screenshots is the cover photo on Pence’s Twitter account from the publication of this article, as seen here here . The archives of Pence’s Twitter account show that this is his cover photo since November 3, 2020 ( here , when it changed from another photo of Pence and his wife, seen here ).
After an extensive search, Reuters could not locate the source of the exact photo. However, it appears that the photo was taken at a Trump rally at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 2, one day before the presidential election (and a day before Pence changed his cover photo).
Photos and videos of Pence during the event with his wife, Karen, where their hair, clothes (especially Karen’s hat) and the environment match the cover photo, can be seen on Pence’s Twitter. here (see especially third photo), Fox 47 News footage here and Associated Press footage here and here.
The building on the background of the cover photo, the small white pointed tent on the left of the photo and the flag banner that separates the speakers from the crowd match a photo of Ivanka Trump during the same event, seen in this Getty Images photo here. Ivanka looks slightly further to the left than Pence and his wife, given the shape of the building in front and the position of the chairs.
Several red caps, which are popular among Trump supporters, can also be seen in the photo.
VERDICT
Untrue. Pence’s cover photo on his Twitter account, which he has had since Nov. 3, shows him and his wife at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Nov. 2. Pence never changed the picture to one of Biden and Harris.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.