After President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19, the White House acted temporarily to announce he had the virus.
Shortly after the announcement, claims that former President Donald Trump had issued a statement about Biden’s illness spread widely on social media.
A tweet from Clay Travis, a conservative commentator and politician, included a screenshot of the alleged statement. The tweet racked up thousands of retweets.
The one in the screenshot is dated July 21, 2022 and bears Trump’s “Save America” logo. In this document, the former president allegedly wishes Biden a speedy recovery and calls his own fight against COVID-19 “Herculean, and it doesn’t mean he woke up Disney Hercules. “
He adds, “I hope Sleepy Joe can recover quickly, like me. “
Within hours, the alleged’s symbol had also been shared on many Facebook and Instagram posts and on Twitter.
“It’s more fun than anything SNL has done in the last 15 years,” one Facebook user wrote in a post to the symbol that was shared more than 50 times a day.
The comments showed that many users believe Trump sent them legitimately.
However, it is fabricated, according to Trump’s spokeswoman and her social media accounts.
USA TODAY reached out to Travis and others who shared the symbol for comment. In a reaction to his tweet with the symbol, Travis wrote: “This is a parody. But that’s the official statement. It’s still an art painting. “
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The message on the symbol would possibly have convinced other people by repeating the language Trump once used, adding the terms “Sleepy Joe” and “Chinese virus. “Says:
Joe Biden, who many have said is our worst president, contracted a case of the Chinese virus, despite being vaccinated. I hope Sleepy Joe can recover quickly, like me. Doctors have described my fight against the Chinese virus as Hercules as Hercules, and not referring to Disney’s awakened Hercules but kevin Sorbo’s. Lou Ferrigno’s too.
Joe, I wish you a speedy recovery, even if you take America in that direction. Nobody needs Kamala!
However, Trump posts statements on his mailing list and on Truth Social, a Twitter option owned by his media company, according to Harrington. The post does not appear on Trump’s profile on Truth Social or on his private website, where his statements are also posted via email. .
“(The statement) is real,” Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington wrote in an email to USA TODAY.
Washington Post correspondent Philip Bump was one of the first to debunk the invention in a Twitter feed posted July 21.
Fact-checking: Trump’s quote on the fight against the coronavirus, his body
Based on our research, we are comparing ALTERED a symbol that is intended to show a message from Trump about Biden’s positive prestige for COVID-19. social media and the president’s website. The screenshot has been changed to make it look like it’s on your side.
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