FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Tweet That The Supreme Court ‘Should Decide The Presidency At Every Election’?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook over 600 times claims President Donald Trump tweeted that the Supreme Court “should decide the presidency at every election.”

Verdict: False

There is no record of Trump ever tweeting the statement. The tweet appears to be fabricated.

Fact Check: 

The viral image shows what appears to be a screen grab of a tweet Trump allegedly sent on Sept. 23 from his Twitter account @realDonaldTrump. The purported tweet reads, “Not fair for a president to leave office because of BAD votes! The Supreme Court should decide the presidency at every election. And the president should always be president because that’s what the American people want! #yourpresident.”

However, Check Your Fact didn’t find any record of Trump tweeting the statement. A search of the president’s Twitter accounts – @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS – turned up no matches. ProPublica’s archive of his deleted tweets also shows no such remark on Sept. 23 or any other date. It appears to be fabricated. (RELATED: Did Antonin Scalia Say His ‘Most Fervent Wish’ Was For Donald Trump To Fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Seat Upon Her Death?)

The fake tweet started circulating widely after Trump on Wednesday declined during a press conference to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the upcoming November election, according to The Associated Press. The following day, Trump told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade that he would respect the result of the election if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Check Your Fact has previously debunked fabricated Trump tweets. In early September, social media users shared a fake tweet falsely claiming Trump said that former President Barack Obama “should wait until he leaves office to pick another Justice.”

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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