Biden's Great-Grandfather Worked in Mining
The Claim
President Joe Biden lied about his family history, particularly that his great-grandfather was a coal miner.
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Emerging story
Some on social media are accusing President Joe Biden of lying about his family’s history in a recent speech. The clip of his speech that was posted on social media was viewed over 13,000 times.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar discovered that in a recent speech, President Biden claimed his great-grandfather was a coal miner. Some on social media accused the President of lying about his family’s history. According to the Washington Post, President Biden’s great-grandfather, Edward Blewitt (1859-1926), and great-great grandfather, Patrick Blewitt (1833-1911), worked in the coal mines as an engineer and an inspector. The following excerpt from a book published about Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, refers to Biden’s great-great grandfather Patrick Blewitt as a mining engineer.
President Biden’s great-grandfather, Edward Blewitt, also worked in the mining business, becoming a civil and mining engineer. He later became a state senator.
While President Biden’s great-grandfather was not an actual coal miner, he did work in the mining business, and his work most likely took him into the coal mines on a regular basis. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, mining engineers are involved in designing, supervising, and monitoring mining production as examples of work tasks.
