It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.
On February 28, 2020, the day of his remark, Trump held a rally in South Carolina. The United States had 63 cases of COVID-19.
Trump claimed dozens of times that the virus would “disappear,” and repeatedly dismissed concerns about COVID-19 as it spread throughout the United States.
Politico – ‘It’s going to disappear’: Trump’s changing tone on coronavirus
In August of 2020, tapes of Maryanne Trump Barry discussing her brother, Donald, were leaked. Mary Trump, Donald’s niece, recorded 15 hours of her talks with Barry in 2018 and 2019 for her book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, published in July.
Throughout the released tapes, Maryanne is only critical of her younger brother, Donald:
…his goddamned Tweet and the lying. Oh my God. I’m talking too freely, but you know. And the change of stories, the lack of preparation, the lying, the holy sh*t.
Maryanne went on to call Trump a “brat,” and discuss how he paid someone to take his entrance exams for college:
In another tape, Marryane stated that Donald “has no principles,” and disparaged his border policy:
Trump’s response was, “Every day it’s something else, who cares. I miss my brother, and I’ll continue to work hard for the American people. Not everyone agrees, but the results are obvious. Our country will soon be stronger than ever before!”
Maryanne was a federal judge until 2019. She was appointed by Reagan to the District Court of New Jersey and by Clinton to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. She resigned amid a probe into whether she and her siblings engaged in in fraud to limit the tax liability of their inheritance. Because the investigation in her instance only sought to determine whether she’d violated judicial conduct rules, it concluded with her resignation.
The Washington Post – In secretly recorded audio, President Trump’s sister says he has ‘no principles’ and ‘you can’t trust him’
USA Today – ‘He has no principles. None’: Maryanne Trump Barry tears into her brother in secretly taped audio
Axios – Trump’s sister says “you can’t trust him” in audio leaked to WashPost
Newsweek – Trump Says ‘Every Day It’s Something Else, Who Cares’ to Sister’s Secret Audio Recording
American Legal News – Maryanne Trump Barry Resigns in Face of Ethics Investigation
Wikipedia – Maryanne Trump Barry
The Washington Post compiled multiple instances up to 2019, including one in which he expressed admiration for China’s lack of term limits:
Trump retweeted a claim that he should have two years added to his term because of the Mueller investigation.
In a deleted tweet, Trump reiterated the sentiment that two years had been “stollen”:
He reiterated the suggestion a month later.
The remarks on additional terms resurfaced as the 2020 election neared. Trump tweeted a meme about his never ending presidency:
On August 17, 2020, Trump said that he wanted a third term because of the Obama administration’s supposed spying on his campaign. The conspiracy theory, often referenced as Obamagate or Spygate, has been debunked.
Trump reiterated the claim on August 24, the first day of the Republican National Convention. He suggested 12 more years “because we caught them doing very bad things in 2016.”
The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Politico – Trump again jokes about extending his term past 2024
Politico – Trump: 2 years of my term were ‘stollen’
News18 – Donald Trump Tweets How Two Years of his Term were ‘Stollen,’ Which Is a German Bread
The Hill – Trump retweets Jerry Falwell Jr. suggesting his term should be extended by two years
Rolling Stone – Trump Says He’ll Seek a Third Term Because ‘They Spied On Me’
Wikipedia – Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution
There was no proof or elaboration on the claim.
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, part of the executive branch. The head of the FDA, Stephen Hahn, was nominated by Trump on November 5, 2019.
At the time of his tweet, the United States totaled 5,861,632 cases and suffered 180,202 deaths.
Trump has referred to the “deep state” in the past, including the “Deep State Department,” prompting Dr. Anthony Fauci to struggle in holding his laughter.
Reuters – Trump says without proof that FDA ‘deep state’ slowing COVID trials
The Hill – Democrats tear into Trump’s ‘deep state’ tweet: His ‘lies and recklessness’ have ‘killed people’
Wikipedia – Food and Drug Administration
Wikipedia – Commissioner of Food and Drugs
Worldometer – Coronavirus, United States
Ahead of the election, Goodyear Tires banned its employees from having any kind of clothing with political messaging or slogans.
In response, Trump called for a boycott on Goodyear via Twitter.
Goodyear is located in Akron, Ohio, and employees approximately 65,000 people. Both the Mayor of the city and Goodyear itself responded via tweet:
Politico – Trump calls for Goodyear boycott after company bans MAGA attire among employees
CBS News – Trump calls for boycott of Goodyear, claiming company banned MAGA hats
Raw Story – Ohio Republicans doing damage control after Trump ‘assault’ on Goodyear infuriates workers: report
Trump made the claim via tweet on the fourth and last day of the DNC in which Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination.
The claim was false, as each day of the DNC opened with the full Pledge of Allegiance.
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
“Under God” was omitted from two smaller individual caucus events, the LGBTQ caucus meeting and the Muslim Delegates Assembly. Each day of the DNC consistsed of some half dozen different individual caucuses.
The phrase “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 amid the Cold War.
Associated Press – AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s distortion on Dems and the pledge
Snopes – Did Democrats Omit ‘Under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance?
Wikipedia – Pledge of Allegiance, Addition of “under God”
It was revealed in June of 2020, that Russia was likely offering bounties to the Taliban to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan. The intelligence was of medium confidence, meaning it was credibly sourced and plausible, but fell short of near certainty. Trump had been briefed in February about the bounty program. Large financial transfers were discovered between the Russian intelligence services and a Taliban-linked account, and Afghan sources alleged that up to $100,000 was offered per American.
Despite the bounty program, Trump advocated for Russia to be returned to the G7, though the proposal was rejected by its other members. Russia was removed from the economic forum in 2014 because of their invasion and annexation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.
Trump said via tweet that he had never been briefed on the matter, labeling it as “fake news,” and claimed that “nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration.” He repeated this claim when asked about US intelligence indicating that Russia was attempting to influence the 2020 election.
In an August 3 interview, Trump said that he never raised the subject of Russian bounties with Putin.
Later in August, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged that Russia offered bounties to militants, saying he and the US military warned Russian officials about possible repercussions.
Trump has criticized NATO since his 2016 campaign, and accepted Putin’s “strong and powerful” denial that Russia didn’t interfere in the 2016 election over the word of his own intelligence services.
The New York Times – Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say
BBC News – Afghanistan war: Trump got written briefing on ‘Russia bounties’, reports say
The New York Times – Trump Still Defers to Putin, Even as He Dismisses U.S. Intelligence and the Allies
Military Times – Trump calls reports of Russian bounties on US troops a ‘hoax’
Axios – Exclusive: Trump never raised Russia’s Taliban bounties with Putin
The New York Times – Trump and Putin Discuss Russia’s Attendance at G7, but Allies Are Wary
Politico – Pompeo, Pentagon warned Russia against offering bounties for killing U.S. troops
Reuters – Most Americans believe Russia targeted U.S. soldiers, want sanctions in response – Reuters/Ipsos poll
Wikipedia – Russian bounty program
On the day of his tweet, the United States had 541 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Trump dismissed concerns about COVID-19 for months as it spread across the United States.
Boston Globe – Trump tweets a meme of himself fiddling, drawing a comparison to Roman emperor Nero
Worldometer – Coronavirus, United States
Trump made the tweet four days after openly admitting to withholding funds from the USPS in order to prevent mail-in voting. Trump also selected Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General, who has been accused of conflicts of interest and working to degrade the USPS’ operations.
CBS17 – ‘SAVE THE POST OFFICE!,’ tweets President Trump amid recent USPS controversy
Politico – Voters sue Postal Service and Trump over changes ahead of election
On August 13, 2020, Trump explained his reasoning behind withholding funds from the United States Postal Service amid the COVID-19 pandemic and ahead of the general election:
They want $25 billion — billion — for the post office. Now they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.
Trump’s Postmaster General for the USPS, Louis DeJoy, a large campaign contributor with tens of millions in assets of USPS competitors, has also been accused of dismantling the USPS ahead of the election. Days later, Trump tweeted “SAVE THE POST OFFICE!”
Trump long held that mail-in voting is rife with fraud, though he and his family vote by mail.
Business Insider – Trump admits he’s refusing to fund the US Postal Service to sabotage mail-in voting
Associated Press – Trump admits he’s blocking postal cash to stop mail-in votes
New York Magazine – Trump Admits He’s Starving the Postal Service to Sabotage Voting by Mail
The Guardian – Trump admits he is undermining USPS to make it harder to vote by mail
