A post shared on Facebook claims that former President Donald Trump wants to make it illegal for former President Barack Obama to say anything negative about former presidents.
There is no evidence for this claim. The claim originated as satire.
Fact Check:
A post made on Facebook claims that Republican nominee Donald Trump wants to make it illegal for former President Barack Obama to make negative comments about former presidents. The post includes a cropped screenshot that reads, “BREAKING: Donald Trump says it should be illegal for Obama to say something negative about a former president.”
The claim is false. No reputable sources have reported that Trump made this suggestion. The claim appears to have originated from satirical X account The Halfway Post.
The Halfway Post made a post on X that reads, “BREAKING: Donald Trump says it should be illegal for Obama to say something negative about a former president.” This is the same caption that appears in the cropped screenshot posted to Facebook. The time stamp on the post made on X matches the time stamp in the screenshot. The screenshot had been cropped to not include The Halfway Post’s username.
The Halfway Post indicates that its content is satire in its profile’s bio. The bio reads, “DADA NEWS. Halfway true comedy and satire by @DashMacIntyre. I don’t report the facts, I improve them.” (RELATED: Did Trump Use Social Media To Announce He Does Not Have Incontinence Issues?)
A comment that appears on both the screenshot and the post made on X contains a fabricated screenshot of a Donald Trump Truth Social post that reads, “Election Interference! Totally unfair that Obama can run his mouth about former presidents like me – should be illegal!” Trump’s Truth Social account does not contain this post.
Check Your Fact has reached out to Trump’s communications team for comment.