Says Donald Trump tweeted that the Confederate flag is “a symbol of LOVE!! Plantations kept black people employed and gave them free food and housing!!!…
No, Trump didn’t tweet this about the Confederate flag
On July 17, the New York Times among others reported that the Pentagon had effectively banned the Confederate flag from military installations around the world.
An image being shared on social media makes it look like President Donald Trump, who has defended the flag and monuments to the Confederacy, expressed his anger over the decision on Twitter that same day.
“SO MAD!!!,” the tweet says. “Pentagon abolished Confederate flag today. The flag is TREMENDOUS part of our history. It’s a symbol of LOVE!! Plantations kept black people employed and gave them free food and housing!!! Black unemployment was VERY low back then like now with ME as your President!!”
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Searching Donald Trump’s personal Twitter account as well as accounts associated with him — like @WhiteHouse and @POTUS — we found no such tweet.
Trump also didn’t delete the tweet from his personal account or other accounts connected to the president, according to a database of deleted tweets run by ProPublica.
If Trump had actually tweeted what this Facebook post claims, it would have drawn widespread news coverage and condemnation from his critics. But there’s none — because he didn’t.
We rate this post Pants on Fire.
Our Sources
Facebook post, July 18, 2020
The New York Times, Pentagon sidesteps Trump to ban the Confederate flag, July 17, 2020
The New York Times, Trump adds to playbook of stoking white fear and resentment, July 6, 2020
Politwoops, Deleted tweets from Donald J. Trump, R-D.C., visited July 20, 2020
