FACT CHECK: Is Trump Asking People To Forward An Email About ‘The TRUMP Rules’?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook more than 10,000 claims President Trump wants people to forward a chain email about “The TRUMP Rules.”

“In three days, most people in the United States will have the message,” reads the beginning of the post. “This is an idea that should be passed around, regardless of political party.”

Verdict: False

There’s no record of Trump encouraging people to pass along the message. It has been circulating in various forms since at least 2009. A “Congressional Reform Act of 2017” has never been introduced in Congress.

Fact Check:

A viral image alleges in a post that Trump is “asking everyone to forward this email” that contains seven “TRUMP Rules” that appear to fall under an alleged “Congressional Reform Act of 2017.” It has been shared more than 10,000 times.

“1. No Tenure/No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office,” the post continues. “And, no more perks go with them.”

“The TRUMP Rules” include requiring members of Congress to participate in Social Security, pay for their own retirement plans, use the same health care system as their constituents and abide by the same laws applied to American citizens. Another rule listed in the post prohibits them from voting for congressional salary increases.

A number of points in “The TRUMP Rules” have been previously debunked by FactCheck.org in 2011 and, more recently, in October of this year. (RELATED: Viral Image Claims To Show A ’28th Amendment’ That ‘Hasn’t Been Upheld In Years’)

There is no evidence that Trump has encouraged people to forward this message. The Daily Caller didn’t find any instances of him tweeting about a “Congressional Reform Act” in the Trump Twitter Archive. An internet search didn’t turn up any credible media outlets reporting on “The TRUMP Rules” either.

A search of all legislation introduced in Congress since 2017 revealed that the “Congressional Reform Act of 2017” has never been proposed. Republican Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher did introduce the Congressional Pension Reform Act in 2017, but that bill only dealt with the pension system.

According to PolitiFact, iterations of the “Congressional Reform Act” have been circulating online since at least 2009, when a chain email first credited billionaire investor Warren Buffett with asking people to forward a proposed constitutional amendment that contained similar language.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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