Trump attacks Obama with fake quote and conspiracy theories
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump went on a late-night social media posting spree on Monday, sharing a series of debunked conspiracy theories and false claims. Many of these posts targeted his Democratic rivals, particularly President Barack Obama. The spree continued into Tuesday morning and included an imaginary quote attributed to Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. The quote was shared by a pro-Trump commentator.
Conspiracy claims
Trump shares fake quote from Republican senator
The post shared by Trump included a fake quote from Kennedy, demanding Obama return $120 million related to his Obamacare law. However, Kennedy clarified he never made such a statement. The fact-check website Lead Stories reported in February that the quote "originated with a satire web publisher who baits conservatives into reposting fake stories." Another post claimed Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election, a claim that has been repeatedly debunked.
Post
'Obama wiretapping Trump Tower'
"Barack Hussein Obama wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 election was a million times worse than anything Nixon did during Watergate. It is time to arrest the Renegade (Obama)," Trump shared. In 2017, during Trump's first administration, the Justice Department stated in a court filing that it had no data to back up Trump's earlier assertion that Trump Tower had been wiretapped in 2016.
Misleading posts
False claims about Obama's alleged coverup
Trump also shared a post with false claims about the Obama administration. These included allegations that Hillary Clinton sold secrets through her private email server and that Obama ordered a coverup. The post also falsely claimed nine of 13 New York police officers who tried to expose the truth "committed suicide or died in suspicious circumstances."
Election lies
Trump posts lies about the 2020 election
The posting spree also included false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Trump shared a post from his national security adviser Michael Flynn, who falsely claimed, "The 2020 Election was Stolen." Another post cited a dubious report from right-wing network One America News, claiming Dominion voting technology deleted millions of Trump votes nationwide. None of these allegations have any basis in fact, CNN reported.
Subscriber claims
Trump claimed NYT is losing subscribers rapidly
In another post, Trump criticized a New York Times article on his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool project costs. He claimed the paper is rapidly losing subscribers, but this is untrue. "The Failing New York Times, which is one of the worst newspapers anywhere....is losing subscribers on an hourly basis." The paper reported last week that it has been adding an average of 330,000 total subscribers each quarter since last year and now has over 13 million subscribers.