Biden Christmas Photo Draws Mockery as Former President Barely Visible

Critics of former President Joe Biden wasted little time piling on after he shared a family Christmas photo that left many observers stunned — not by who was included, but by how difficult it was to even spot Biden himself.

“Wishing you a peaceful and joyful Christmas Eve filled with love,” Biden, 83, wrote in a post on X Wednesday night, attaching a photo showing himself alongside former First Lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden, and other family members. What was meant to be a warm holiday greeting instead ignited widespread ridicule after viewers noticed that Biden was barely visible in the image.

In the photo, every other family member appears clearly framed and centered, while Biden can only be partially seen standing behind his wife, obscured and pushed into the background. The unusual composition quickly became the focal point of online commentary, especially among conservatives, who questioned how such an image could be approved for a former president’s official account.

“I think it’s disrespectful to put the eldest family member in the back of a photo taken for the former president’s social media,” conservative author Andy Ngo wrote. “This is a former president of the United States being shoved in the background and half covered up by his wife in his own photo.”

Other commenters echoed that sentiment, calling the image awkward, bizarre, and even humiliating. Some said they initially assumed the photo had been altered or was part of an online joke.

“I saw this photo and thought – No f-ing way that’s real,” writer Mike LaChance commented. “This is surely someone mocking Joe Biden as being photoshopped into the picture – but no, it’s real. It’s from his official account. This is mind blowing.”

Several critics compared the image to a Where’s Waldo-style puzzle, joking that viewers had to scan the photo carefully just to locate the former president. Others said the image symbolized what they see as Biden’s diminished role even within his own family presentation, noting that the photo seemed to sideline him in a moment meant to celebrate togetherness.

The reaction underscored how even a simple holiday post from Biden now draws intense scrutiny and skepticism. What might have once been dismissed as an innocent photo mishap instead became fodder for broader criticism about how Biden is portrayed and handled publicly.

Apparently not only were Americans embarrassed of Biden but his family is too. https://t.co/NMBU7c82TB

— Brilyn Hollyhand (@BrilynHollyhand) December 26, 2025

The contrast was heightened by President Donald Trump’s own Christmas messaging, which leaned heavily into his trademark confrontational style. Trump used the holiday to attack Democrats and the media over the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein controversy, once again accusing political opponents and news outlets of corruption and hypocrisy.

Trump ended his Christmas message with a pointed sign-off that drew widespread attention of its own. “Enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas! President Donald J. Trump,” he wrote.

While Biden’s post was intended to project warmth and normalcy, critics argued that the execution achieved the opposite, reinforcing perceptions of awkwardness and decline. The viral reaction to the photo ensured that Biden’s holiday greeting would be remembered less for its message of peace and more for the image that left the former president nearly lost in his own family portrait.

As social media reactions continued to spread, the episode served as another reminder that in today’s hyper-political climate, even a Christmas photo can become a flashpoint — especially when it appears to capture more than was likely intended.