FACT CHECK: Is The Trump Campaign Selling ‘Make America Great Again’ Face Masks?
An image shared on Facebook claims President Donald Trump’s campaign website sells red “Make America Great Again” face masks.
Verdict: False
No such product appears on the Trump campaign website. Trump’s campaign manager confirmed in a tweet that the image was fabricated.
Fact Check:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommended on April 3 that Americans wear face coverings in public to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, NPR reported. Shortly thereafter, social media users started sharing alleged screen grabs of Trump’s campaign website showing red “Make America Great Again” face masks available for purchase.
The screen grabs appear to be fake, however. No face masks could be found on the Trump campaign’s online store. Had Trump’s campaign started selling such products, it would have been picked up by the media, yet none have reported on it. (RELATED: Did Trump Tweet That He Won’t Send Stimulus Checks To People Who Tweet ‘#NotMyPresident’?)
ABC News reporter Will Steakin debunked the masks as fake on Twitter after former Democratic congressional candidate Randy Bryce tweeted a supposed screen grab from the Trump campaign website. The claim appears to have originated with Bryce, though his tweet has since been deleted.
Screenshot/Twitter
“You knew it was coming,” read Bryce’s now-deleted tweet. “If I was a betting man I’d guess they’re not made in the United States. #COVID-19.”
Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, also addressed the image on Twitter, confirming that it was fake.
This is FAKE.
Leave it to a former DEMOCRAT candidate for Congress to come up with this crap.
Also, FYI, every single piece of @TeamTrump merchandise is Made in America.
If it’s not, it’s fake.
Just like this one. https://t.co/ugMfdBSRtd
— Brad Parscale – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@parscale) April 6, 2020
“This is FAKE. Leave it to a former DEMOCRAT candidate for Congress to come up with this crap. Also, FYI every single piece of @TeamTrump merchandise is Made in America,” Parscale tweeted. “If it’s not, it’s fake. Just like this one.”
