Quick Take
Facebook users are circulating a fake screenshot of a supposed tweet from President Donald Trump, which purportedly praises his own “sacrifices” in recognition of Memorial Day. Trump never posted the tweet in question.
Full Story
President Donald Trump posted dozens of tweets over the course of Memorial Day weekend, including some that peddled a baseless conspiracy theory involving a TV news host.
But Facebook users are taking aim at Trump over a tweet the president didn’t post.
“Memorial Day is a special day,” the fake tweet reads. “A day to look back at the sacrifices that have been made for our country. I’ve sacrificed alot to be your president and to Make America Great! America is now GREAT do to my sacrifices. Only losers and haters don’t see that!”
The fake screenshot includes a timestamp of 8:05 a.m. on May 24.
There is no evidence Trump ever posted that tweet. It does not appear on his account or in the Factba.se database, which records Trump’s deleted tweets. It also is not in ProPublica’s log of the president’s deleted tweets.
The fabricated tweet uses language seen in actual tweets from Trump, including a reference to his 2016 campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” He has also used the terms “haters” and “losers” on Twitter to describe his critics.
On May 24, Trump posted on Twitter 35 times — either original tweets or retweets — according to the Trump Twitter Archive.
Among his tweets that day was a post about a debunked conspiracy theory involving Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman who hosts MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Another defended his playing golf amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also used a tweet that day to cast doubt on the integrity of mail-in ballots. Election experts have previously told us that while voter fraud via mail-in ballots is more common than in-person voting fraud, it’s still rare — including in the five states that already vote primarily by mail.
The next day, Trump posted several tweets recognizing Memorial Day. But none of those resembled the fake tweet connecting the president’s own “sacrifices” to the holiday.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.
Sources
Bever, Lindsey. “Trump suggested the 2001 death of a Joe Scarborough aide is an ‘unsolved mystery.’ It isn’t.” Washington Post. 29 Nov 2017.
“Deleted Tweets From Donald J. Trump, R-Fla.” PolitiWoops. ProPublica. Accessed 26 May 2020.
Donald Trump – Deleted Tweets. Factba.se. Accessed 26 May 2020.
Farley, Robert. “Trump’s Latest Voter Fraud Misinformation.” FactCheck.org. 10 Apr 2020.
Trump, Donald (@realDonaldTrump). Twitter. Accessed 26 May 2020.
Trump Twitter Archive. trumptwitterarchive.com. Accessed 26 May 2020.