FACT CHECK: Did Jim Jordan Author This Statement About Donald Trump’s Second Impeachment?
A post shared on Facebook claims to show a statement from Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan about former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment.
Verdict: False
Jordan did not write the statement, according to a spokesperson from his office. The statement has been circulating online since at least December 2020, a month before Trump’s second impeachment.
Fact Check:
Trump was impeached for a second time by the House of Representatives on one count of inciting an insurrection following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to The New York Times. Jordan has been outspoken about his opposition to Trump’s second impeachment, saying, it was “about canceling the president and canceling all the people you guys disagree with,” NBC News reported.
This particular Facebook post claims Jordan shared his feelings about the impeachment in a long statement, reading in part, “I tolerated 44 (Obama) for 8 years and although I didn’t vote for him, I only hoped the best for him, never said ‘ Not my President ‘ because he certainly was the President of the United States.” It goes on to list things the author remembers such as “the Presidents spokesperson being kicked out a restaurant,” “five Senators shot on a ballfield” and “people banging on the Supreme Court door.”
There is, however, no evidence that Jordan made the lengthy statement attributed to him in the Facebook post. Media outlets haven’t reported about Jordan making the statement. Check Your Fact also did not find the lengthy statement on Jordan’s verified Twitter and Facebook accounts. Nor does the comment appear in ProPublica’s archive of his deleted tweets.
Resources like Jordan’s congressional website and the congressional record likewise turned up no matching remarks. A spokesperson from Jordan’s office confirmed to Check Your Fact in an email that the Republican congressman had not made the statement. (RELATED: ‘If A Few Senior Citizens Die, I Can Live With That’ – Did Rep. Jim Jordan Make This Comment About Coronavirus On Fox News?)
The lengthy statement has been circulating online since at least December 2020, when one Facebook user shared a version attributed to “a real American.” It’s unclear how the statement was first erroneously credited to Jordan.
Jordan and other conservative lawmakers are looking to establish a rapid-response squad to “advise Trump’s legal team and speak to the media,” according to Bloomberg News.