A viral image circulating on social media claims former President Donald Trump referred to Michelle Obama as “Mike” in a tweet, suggesting that she is a transgender woman named “Michael Robinson.”

Noway was this an authentic Trump response? pic.twitter.com/jcyODFY0EN

— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) September 30, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

The tweet is not authentic. There is no credible evidence to support the claim that Trump posted this.

Fact Check:

Former President Barack Obama took a shot at Trump during a Kamala Harris advertisement, calling out his “obsession” with crowd sizes at his rallies, according to The Hill. The ad came after a speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, where he denounced the “bumbling and chaos” of a potential second Trump administration, CBS News reported.

An image shared widely online shows what appears to be a tweet from Donald Trump in response to Michelle Obama’s alleged criticism of him. In the supposed tweet, Trump calls the former first lady “Mike” and makes a reference to playing basketball with her and former President Barack Obama.

“Noway was this an authentic Trump response,” the post’s caption reads, highlighting the wording of the screenshot.

However, there are multiple issues with the image and the claim itself. First, a search of X reveals no such tweet from Trump. Additionally, there has been no coverage from credible news outlets or any verified sources reporting this alleged exchange. Given the media’s history of covering Trump’s controversial comments, a tweet of this nature would have generated substantial news attention, but there is none.

Fact-checkers from organizations such as PolitiFact have thoroughly investigated this claim and found it to be baseless. In short, the tweet circulating online is fabricated. Donald Trump never referred to Michelle Obama as “Mike” in a tweet, and the claim has been debunked by multiple reliable sources.