FACT CHECK: Did The Postal Service Unveil A Donald Trump Postage Stamp?
A video shared on Facebook claims to capture the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) unveiling a postage stamp honoring President Donald Trump.
Verdict: False
This is a manipulated video that originally showed the unveiling of a “forever” stamp commemorating the late President George H.W. Bush.
Fact Check:
The National Postal Museum keeps a digital copy of every pre-paid stamp ever issued by the USPS in an online database that contains stamps dating back to 1847. A search of its online collection turned up no record of the Trump postage stamp.
However, the Facebook video does closely resemble footage from the USPS’s dedication ceremony for a stamp honoring Bush on June 12. Officials unveiled the “forever” stamp at his presidential library and museum in College Station, Texas, with Bush family members and friends, former colleagues and the general public in attendance.
Seven people stand around the stamp replica during the unveiling of the stamp, six of which are visible in the doctored video. They appear to be the exact same people in the exact same attire as those onstage for the removal of the curtain in footage of Bush’s stamp reveal.
Even more dubious, the fake stamp design has Cyrillic lettering and “Russia 2017” next to Trump’s face. The president also appears to be wearing a Russian flag on his lapel in the portrait.
The issuance of a postage stamp commemorating Bush came nearly seven months after the 41st president’s death on Nov. 30. The unveiling occurred on what would have been his 95th birthday.
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