User blog comment:Romaniandude12/What You all Are as American Presidents or First Ladies/@comment-25998224-20170722170034/@comment-26067066-20170726000238

Attitudes towards male companionship were very different during the mid 19th century; one could act more affectionate towards another male in public (in this case the 13th Vice President) without necessarily implying homosexuality. Here's an interesting analysis of Buchanan: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/17/who-was-our-first-gay-president/

Not trying to say that Buchanan wasn't homosexual, it's very possible, I just don't think there's enough proof to say for certain either way.