Q: Did President Trump reinstate National Peace Officers Memorial Day?
A: No. That claim was made in a fake news story that also falsely said the annual memorial for fallen officers was canceled by former President Obama.
FULL QUESTION
Did Trump reinstate a day that Obama took away for fallen officers?
FULL ANSWER
President Donald Trump has not “reinstated” a “national day of remembrance for fallen officers” that former President Barack Obama “canceled.” That claim was made in a fabricated story published in May on several websites that circulate fake news.
The made-up story said: “President Trump made Barack Obama look like a complete fool this morning in front of more than 10,000 police veterans when he announced that he would reinstate a national day of remembrance for fallen officers that the traitor before him had done away with.”
It also included this fabricated quote from Trump: “Police officers in this country will no longer be treated like criminals. Obama decided your fallen didn’t deserve to be honored. That changes today. Americans will remember those that keep our streets safe big time.”
We found no record of Trump ever having said that.
Facebook users flagged a version of the story that appeared on TheExaminer.site. Some readers may have noticed the post includes this note: “We at uspostman cannot make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information.”
That’s because TheExaminer.site published a version that was originally posted on Uspostman.com, and that website attributed the story to Guerilla.news, which says on its Facebook page that it is intended “for Donald Tramp [sic] supporters.”
Guerilla.news published the story on May 7, but that was one day after it already had been featured on a number of unreliable websites.
DailyUSAUpdate.com, for example, published the story on May 6 under the headline “President Trump Just Reinstated A Sacred Day Of Remembrance That Obama Canceled.”
That website, according to its Facebook page, claims to be “an unbiased page which tries to bring you the latest and hottest topics from the US politics stage.” Instead, it’s a partisan website that regularly posts fake news stories, usually attacking Democrats.
In reality, Trump was at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, the weekend of May 6, when the concocted story alleges he told a large crowd of officers that “Obama decided your fallen didn’t deserve to be honored.”
Trump didn’t actually speak at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service in Washington, D.C., until May 15. He never once mentioned Obama during his nearly 25-minute speech.
The fact is, Obama never “scrapped” the annual service, which started in 1982, “so the Black Lives Matter movement wouldn’t be offended,” as the phony story says.
Obama was at the event in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015. And those years when he didn’t attend the service, Obama still signed a presidential proclamation recognizing May 15 as Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, as former President John F. Kennedy first did in 1963.
Trump’s own White House has acknowledged that Trump was carrying on a tradition, not reinstating one, when he participated in this year’s service for fallen officers.
“Every year since 1982, members of our law enforcement community, their families and friends have gathered on this day in Washington, D.C. to mourn the fallen and remember their heroism through a memorial service,” a WhiteHouse.gov blog post by Vice President Mike Pence says. “Yesterday, we upheld that tradition once again as we gathered at the U.S. Capitol to pay our respects to the sacrifice and memory of the fallen.”
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to help identify and label viral fake news stories flagged by readers on the social media network.
Sources
DailyUSAUpdate.com. “President Trump Just Reinstated A Sacred Day Of Remembrance That Obama Canceled.” 6 May 2017.
Smith, Allan. “Obama Canceled It, Trump Reinstated It – A Very Sacred Day is Back.” Guerilla.news. 7 May 2017.
TheExaminer.site. “Obama Canceled It, Trump Reinstated It – A Very Sacred Day is Back.” Accessed 27 May 2017.
Jackson, David. “Trump heads to New Jersey golf club for working weekend.” USA Today. 5 May 2017.
Pence, Mike. “Honoring Law Enforcement this National Police Week.” WhiteHouse.gov. 16 May 2017.
Trump, Donald. “Remarks by President Trump at the 36th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service.” WhiteHouse.gov. 15 May 2017.
PoliceWeek.org. “About National Police Week.” Accessed 27 May 2017.
Obama, Barack. “Remarks at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service.” ObamaWhiteHouse.archives.gov. 15 May 2010.
Obama, Barack. “Remarks at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service.” ObamaWhiteHouse.archives.gov. 15 May 2012.
Obama, Barack. “Remarks by the President at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service.” ObamaWhiteHouse.archives.gov. 15 May 2013.
Obama, Barack. “Remarks by the President at National Peace Officers Memorial.” White House. ObamaWhiteHouse.archives.gov. 15 May 2015.
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 8378 – Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2009. Government Publishing Office. 11 May 2009.
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 8518 – Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2010. Government Publishing Office. 7 May 2010.
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 8676 — Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2011. Government Publishing Office. 13 May 2011.
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 8821 – Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2012. Government Publishing Office. 14 May 2012
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 8979 — Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2013. Government Publishing Office. 10 May 2013.
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 9123 – Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2014. Government Publishing Office. 9 May 2014.
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 9277 – Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2015. Government Publishing Office. 8 May 2015.
Obama, Barack. Proclamation 9448 — Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2016. Government Publishing Office. 13 May 2016.