Trump shares fake quotes, falsely accuses Obama of treason in late-night rant
Issued on: 13/05/2026 - FRANCE24
05:18 min From the show
In a late-night social media blitz before his high-stakes China visit, US President Donald Trump unleashed a string of debunked conspiracy theories, AI-generated images and attacks on his political rivals. Posting 55 times in a span of three hours, Trump tore into former president Barack Obama, accusing him – without evidence – of treason and espionage during Trump's 2016 election campaign. He also revived falsehoods that the election was "stolen" from him in 2020, and attacked The New York Times.
In his frenzy, Trump reposted comments that Obama should be "arrested" and "prosecuted" for allegedly wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. This is despite zero evidence that anyone – let alone Obama himself – wiretapped Trump Tower at the time, and a 2017 court filing from the Justice Department also affirming it had found no basis to support the claims.
Trump also shared a quote attacking Obama that never existed, claiming Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana demanded Obama "return $120 million that he allegedly earned through ownership related to Obamacare". Kennedy himself told digital outlet NOTUS he'd heard of the claims online, but that he "didn't say that. I don't know the basis of it".
Trump also revived conspiracy theories about his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, claiming "2.7 million Trump votes nationwide" had been deleted due to Dominion voting technology, including "over 1 million Pennsylvania votes switched from President Trump to Biden." This is false information with no factual basis, but one that the US president continues to rehash.
The New York Times was also blasted for its coverage of Trump's project for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In a 400-word rant, the US leader said the paper was "failing" and "losing subscribers on an hourly basis", after the paper pointed out that Trump's project was significantly more expensive than the $1.8 million price tag originally attributed. Trump did not actually dispute the figures given by the NYT, and the outlet is in fact gaining readership, not losing it, reporting last week that it had surpassed 13 million subscribers.
Vedika BAHL goes through Trump's tirade in Truth or Fake.
In a late-night social media blitz before his high-stakes China visit, US President Donald Trump unleashed a string of debunked conspiracy theories, AI-generated images and attacks on his political rivals. Posting 55 times in a span of three hours, Trump tore into former president Barack Obama, accusing him – without evidence – of treason and espionage during Trump's 2016 election campaign. He also revived falsehoods that the election was "stolen" from him in 2020, and attacked The New York Times.
In his frenzy, Trump reposted comments that Obama should be "arrested" and "prosecuted" for allegedly wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. This is despite zero evidence that anyone – let alone Obama himself – wiretapped Trump Tower at the time, and a 2017 court filing from the Justice Department also affirming it had found no basis to support the claims.
Trump also shared a quote attacking Obama that never existed, claiming Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana demanded Obama "return $120 million that he allegedly earned through ownership related to Obamacare". Kennedy himself told digital outlet NOTUS he'd heard of the claims online, but that he "didn't say that. I don't know the basis of it".
Trump also revived conspiracy theories about his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, claiming "2.7 million Trump votes nationwide" had been deleted due to Dominion voting technology, including "over 1 million Pennsylvania votes switched from President Trump to Biden." This is false information with no factual basis, but one that the US president continues to rehash.
The New York Times was also blasted for its coverage of Trump's project for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In a 400-word rant, the US leader said the paper was "failing" and "losing subscribers on an hourly basis", after the paper pointed out that Trump's project was significantly more expensive than the $1.8 million price tag originally attributed. Trump did not actually dispute the figures given by the NYT, and the outlet is in fact gaining readership, not losing it, reporting last week that it had surpassed 13 million subscribers.
Vedika BAHL goes through Trump's tirade in Truth or Fake.
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