An image shared on facebook purportedly shows President Donald Trump tweeting, “If I lose the election, I’m nuking California.” 

Verdict: False

There is no record of Trump tweeting the comment. It appears that the tweet has been fabricated.

Fact Check:

In recent weeks, social media has become replete with misinformation about both Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. One particular Facebook post shared what appears to be a screen grab of an Oct. 31 tweet from Trump threatening the state of California if he loses the 2020 presidential election.

“If I lose the election, I’m nuking California. I’m not even kidding,” the alleged tweet reads. “Frisco’s getting a can of liquid sunshine. The only star in Hollywood will be the one detonated two miles above that stupid sign.” (RELATED: Did Trump Refuse To Provide California Aid To Fight The Wildfires?)

While Trump did previously tweet on Oct. 12 that, “California is going to hell,” there is no evidence that he ever tweeted what is attributed to him in the image. Had Trump actually sent such a tweet, media outlets would have almost assuredly reported on it, yet no reports exist.

A search of his verified Twitter accounts — @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS — turned up no similar remarks. Nor could the tweet be found in ProPublica’s archive of Trump’s deleted tweets. Multiple humor and entertainment Facebook pages shared the tweet, indicating it may have been fabricated as a joke, though some users shared it as if it were genuine.

Trump tweets are often fabricated and spread by social media users using websites such as FakeTrumpTweet.com. In late October, Check Your Fact debunked the false claim that Trump tweeted that he had “the most coronavirus.”