FACT CHECK: Did Trump Say Suicide Bombers Should Get The Death Penalty?
An image shared on Facebook claimed that President Donald Trump “just said he thinks suicide bombers should get the death penalty.”
Verdict: False
There is no evidence that Trump ever said this. The story originated on a satire website.
Fact Check:
In an attempt to call his intelligence into question, this image claims that Trump said suicide bombers – who, if successful, would die in the attack – should receive the death penalty as punishment. The image clearly wants the reader to see the irony, as it goes on to say “think about it, take all the time you need.”
The Daily Caller found no evidence of Trump ever saying or writing such a statement. The claim seems to have originated with a 2017 satire article on the site Breaking Burgh titled “Trump Fires Up Base With Call For Death Penalty For Suicide Bombers.” The article claims that Trump made statements like “our vengeance will be swift against those extremists who blow themselves up.”
The website’s tagline reads, “A satirical blog serving western Pennsylvania and beyond.”
In November 2017, Trump called for the death penalty in the case of terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov, who has been accused of driving a truck down a bicycle path in New York, killing eight people.
