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COVID Clear

Was President Joe Biden in hospice care as of July 23, 2024? No, that's not true: He was diagnosed with COVID-19, on July 17, 2024, then tested negative for COVID and was seen in public on July 23, 2024, returning to the White House. The social media account that first made the claim is not a reputable news organization and no longer exists as of publication of this fact check.

A version of the claim appeared in a post and video on Instagram on July 23, 2024 . It opened with the person in the video saying:

Hey guys, I was just doing my nightly workout when Global Press reported that an hour ago a verified source of theirs claims that Joe Biden is in hospice right now and is looking unlikely to survive the night. This comes just moments after we have found out he had dropped out of the race due to him catching the vid. Now I think you should take these reports lightly because they're not confirmed, but just wanted to report what I found.

This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:

(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Tue Jul 23 18:35:08 2024 UTC)

The original claim was made on X, formerly known as Twitter, on the account @GlobalPressCorp, which no longer exists as of July 23, 2024 as this screenshot shows:

(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Jul 23 18:40:13 2024 UTC)

Note: A representative of Global Press, an 18-year-old nonprofit news organization, contacted Lead Stories after publication of this article to say they were "unaware of" and had "no affiliation with" this account.

An archived version of the tweet shows the original post that claimed, "BREAKING: A verified source has informed the Global Press team that Joe Biden is currently in hospice care and is unlikely to survive the night," as this screenshot shows:

(Source: Archive.today website screenshot taken on Tue Jul 23 18:43:12 2024 UTC)

The social media post gave no evidence to prove the claim.

Hospice care "focuses on the care, comfort, and quality of life of a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life," according to the National Institute on Aging (archived here). Had the president been receiving such care it would have been national and international news. A Google news search (archived here) of keywords returned no credible matches.

On July 22, 2024, the day the claim was made, the White House released a letter from Biden's physician (archived here), Dr. Kevin O'Connor, that explained how he was dealing with his COVID diagnosis:

President Biden completed his tenth dose of PAXLOVID this morning. His symptoms have almost resolved completely. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear. The President continues to perform all of his presidential duties.

Biden called into his campaign headquarters to speak with staff and volunteers as Vice President Kamala Harris made her first appearance there following his announcement that he would not be seeking a second term for office. National news outlets covered his call here (archived here) and here (archived here).

On July 23, 2024, O'Connor announced that Biden had tested negative for COVID per a letter posted on the White House website (archived here):

The President's symptoms have resolved. Over the course of his infection, he never manifested a fever, and his vital signs remained normal, to include pulse oximetry. His lungs remained clear. BINAX rapid antigen testing is negative.
He will continue to be monitored for any recurrence of illness. The President continues to perform all of his presidential duties.

Reuters' White House correspondent Jeff Mason posted a video on his X account (archived here) of Biden walking and boarding Air Force 1 on July 23, 2024 in Dover, DE:

.@POTUS boards AF1. pic.twitter.com/7GmJ5UfJaU

-- Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) July 23, 2024

Biden was scheduled to address the nation, speaking from the White House Oval Office, on July 24, 2024. His topic was to be his decision not to seek a second term.

Other Lead Stories fact checks on claims related to Joe Biden can be found here.