FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Tweet That Barack Obama Left The White House Bunker In ‘Bad Shape’?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows President Donald Trump tweeting that former President Barack Obama left the White House bunker in “bad shape.”

“Protect Pres. Obama at all cost, this fool’s obsession is scary,” reads the caption.

Verdict:

There is no record of Trump ever tweeting the statement.

Fact Check:

The Facebook post features a screen grabbed tweet, purportedly from Trump, that criticizes Obama for leaving the White House bunker in “bad shape.” Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker on May 29, as hundreds of George Floyd protesters gathered outside the executive mansion, according to The Associated Press.

“Thanks to the crowds of ‘protestors’ VP Pence and myself have been escorted to the White House bunker located in the basement,” reads the purported tweet. “It’s a tremendously huge and powerful structure that can withstand anything! Sadly it was kept in very bad shape by OBAMA, who left it extremely dirty and with no food/supplies. Terrible planning!”

The alleged tweet comes as protests and riots erupted in Washington, D.C., and other major U.S. cities following the death of Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody after an officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, according to video of the incident. Derek Chauvin, the officer videotaped kneeling on Floyd’s neck, has since been charged with second-degree murder, and the three other officers involved have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, CNN reported.

However, there is no record of Trump tweeting the comment. Searching the president’s Twitter accounts –@realDonaldTrump and @POTUS – and ProPublica’s archive of his deleted tweets turned up no matches. The Internet Archive also doesn’t show any such tweet in screen captures of his Twitter timeline from that weekend.

Trump disputed reports that Secret Service agents rushed him to the bunker for safety in a June 3 interview with “Fox and Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade on his Fox News radio show. (RELATED: Did Donald Trump Tweet, ‘Some Oldies Will Have To Die’?)

“Well, it was a false report,” Trump said. “I wasn’t down – I went down during the day, and I was there for a tiny little short period of time, and it was much more for an inspection.”

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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