President Donald Trump's post last Thursday began with two siren emojis.
"BREAKING," it continued: "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has just released HUNDREDS OF BOMBSHELL RUSSIAGATE DOCUMENTS proving that Barack Obama personally ordered CIA agents to manufacture false intelligence on President Trump."
"This was a coup attempt by Barack Hussein Obama and his cronies," Trump's post stated, concluding with "ARREST OBAMA NOW!" An attached video excerpted a report from Fox News' Jesse Watters delineating comments Gabbard made at the White House.
This made a splash on the right. The conspiracy-centered site Gateway Pundit ran a story about the documents released by Gabbard the prior day, which the article claimed proved "Obama doctored the information to make it look like Putin and his buddy Donald Trump stole the election."
Given the sources — Watters, Gateway Pundit — you will not be surprised to learn that this accusation isn't true. In fact, it wasn't even new. Trump's post was an image, not actual text, because he'd lifted it from a December X post. This incident is important not only because the president of the United States is sharing six-month-old claims. It is important because the allegation Gabbard made in July shows her willingness to elevate dubious evidence in order to make a loaded political claim — something to bear in mind given her new role "investigating" the "election fraud" that Trump insists occurred in the 2020 election. This is a preview of Philip Bump's latest column. Read the full column here. |
