The Viral Riddle: Do The 46th And 47th US Presidents Really Have The Same Parents?

The question of whether the 46th and 47th Presidents of the United States share the same parents has become a viral sensation and a popular social media brain teaser, particularly in late 2024. This query, often posed as a trick question or a viral challenge, has sparked global curiosity and confusion, leading many to search for a hidden family connection between the current political figures. The short and direct answer is that, factually, the 46th President, Joe Biden, and the 47th President, Donald J. Trump, do not share the same parents, nor are they siblings in any literal sense.

However, the true intention behind this highly-searched phrase is rooted in a clever presidential riddle that has been making the rounds online, often slightly misquoted. The actual riddle involves two different presidential numbers, and its solution is a brilliant piece of political trivia that hinges on a unique quirk in American presidential history. To fully understand the viral claim, we must first look at the biographical facts of both leaders and then reveal the surprising twist of the original puzzle.

Biographical Profiles: The 46th and 47th Presidents

To definitively address the "same parents" query, it is essential to look at the family backgrounds of the two individuals who hold (or will hold) these presidential numbers. The 46th President, Joe Biden, and the 47th President, Donald J. Trump, come from distinct and separate family lines, with no shared immediate parentage.

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Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (The 46th President)

• Full Name: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
• Dates: Born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
• Father: Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. (1915–2002). A successful used-car salesman and businessman who instilled in his son the value of perseverance.
• Mother: Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan Biden (1917–2010). Known for her strong Irish-American heritage and for encouraging her son's political ambitions.
• Siblings: He is the eldest of four children, with one sister, Valerie Biden Owens (a political strategist), and two brothers, Francis "Frank" Biden and James "Jim" Biden.
• Key Entities: Scranton, Pennsylvania, University of Delaware, Syracuse Law, U.S. Senate, Vice Presidency, Delaware, Roman Catholicism, Amtrak Joe.

Donald John Trump (The 47th President)

• Full Name: Donald John Trump.
• Dates: Born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York.
• Father: Frederick Christ "Fred" Trump Sr. (1905–1999). A successful real estate developer in New York City.
• Mother: Mary Anne MacLeod Trump (1912–2000). An immigrant from Tong, Isle of Lewis, Scotland.
• Siblings: He is the fourth of five children, with two older sisters, Maryanne Trump Barry and Elizabeth Trump Grau, an older brother, Fred Trump Jr. (deceased), and a younger brother, Robert Trump (deceased).
• Key Entities: Queens, New York, The Trump Organization, Wharton School of Finance, Real Estate Development, The Apprentice, Mar-a-Lago, Truth Social, Non-Consecutive Term.

The factual record is clear: Joseph R. Biden Sr. and Jean Finnegan Biden are not the same people as Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. The two Presidents have entirely separate family trees and do not share a biological parent.

The Real Viral Riddle Explained: 45th and 47th

The intense search volume for the "46th and 47th president same parents" phrase is almost certainly a slight misremembering of a different, highly popular riddle that swept across social media platforms, particularly after the 2024 election. The original and correct riddle asks:

"How can the 45th and 47th Presidents of the United States have the same parents, but not be brothers?"

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This puzzle became a viral sensation, famously stumping celebrities like the rapper Latto and Young Thug, and costing thousands of dollars in a jewelry store challenge.

The Surprising and Simple Answer

The solution to the riddle is an elegant trick of presidential numbering. The answer is: They are the same person.

Donald J. Trump served as the 45th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021. He was then succeeded by Joe Biden, the 46th President (2021–2025). Following the 2024 election, Donald J. Trump was elected to serve a second, non-consecutive term, making him the 47th President of the United States.

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Since the 45th President (Donald Trump) and the 47th President (Donald Trump) are the same individual, it is perfectly logical that they would have the same parents (Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump) and yet not be brothers. The riddle plays on the assumption that two different ordinal numbers (45th and 47th) must refer to two different people.

Why the Misquote to 46th and 47th Went Viral

The misquotation from "45th and 47th" to "46th and 47th" is a natural linguistic drift that occurs with viral content. The original riddle's solution—Donald Trump being both the 45th and 47th—is a piece of trivia that is not immediately obvious to everyone, especially those who are not closely following the nuances of US political history and presidential numbering.

The confusion is compounded by the fact that the 46th President, Joe Biden, is the person who served between the 45th and 47th terms. When the riddle is misstated to include the 46th President, it forces the searcher to look for a genuine, but non-existent, family tie between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, which is why the search query "46 and 47th president same parents" has become so popular.

Key Takeaways on Presidential Numbering

The U.S. presidential numbering system counts the person, not the term. The same person who serves two non-consecutive terms is counted twice in the term count but only once in the person count. However, the use of ordinal numbers (45th, 46th, 47th) refers to the sequence of presidencies.

• 45th President: Donald J. Trump (First Term)
• 46th President: Joseph R. Biden Jr.
• 47th President: Donald J. Trump (Second, Non-Consecutive Term)

This is not the first time this numbering quirk has occurred. Grover Cleveland, who served two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897), is considered the 22nd and the 24th President of the United States. This historical precedent is the exact basis for the viral riddle that has resurfaced with the election of the 47th President.

Topical Authority: The Historical Context of Shared Parentage

While the 46th and 47th Presidents do not share parents, the history of the U.S. presidency does contain examples of familial relationships, though none involving a shared set of immediate parents between two distinct presidents.

The closest historical parallels include:

• Father and Son Presidents: John Adams (2nd) and John Quincy Adams (6th); George H.W. Bush (41st) and George W. Bush (43rd).
• Grandfather and Grandson President: William Henry Harrison (9th) and Benjamin Harrison (23rd).
• Cousins: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (32nd) and Theodore Roosevelt (26th) were fifth cousins.

The concept of two presidents sharing the exact same biological parents, as the riddle implies, would mean they are full siblings. This has never occurred in the history of the United States presidency. The viral query about the 46th and 47th Presidents, therefore, serves as a fascinating example of how political events and historical numbering can be turned into a perplexing and highly engaging piece of modern trivia.

The next time you encounter the question, remember to check the numbers: the 45th and 47th is the riddle, and the 46th and 47th is the factual impossibility that the riddle is designed to confuse.