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stated on November 12, 2023 in an Instagram post:

Former President Donald Trump “just told everyone he is commander in chief.”

False

Hail to the commander in chief: It’s President Joe Biden, not former President Donald Trump

If your time is short

  • Former President Donald Trump isn’t the commander in chief, President Joe Biden is. Trump recently referred to his prior experience in the White House relative to the other Republican presidential candidates, none of whom have served as commander in chief.

See the sources for this fact-check

Did former President Donald Trump recently claim that he’s still the commander in chief? 

No, but a recent Instagram post points to a Nov. 11 campaign rally as evidence that he did. 

“I will 100% prevent World War III,” Trump says in a video clip in the post. Text above the video, from a Nov. 12 X post, reads: “Trump just told everyone he IS COMMANDER IN CHIEF.”

“You’re going to end up in World War III,” he continues. “You look at what’s going on right now in the Middle East and Ukraine, and you add it up and we have somebody that has no clue what the hell is going on. You’re going to end up in World War III because of this — no reason for it. Millions of people will die. I know the players, I know the job, I alone in this primary have borne the burden of having troops in harm’s way as commander in chief of the U.S armed forces.” 

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Trump’s comments in context, from a Nov. 11 campaign rally in Claremont, New Hampshire,

 make clear that he’s referring to his past experience relative to the other 2024 Republican presidential primary candidates.  None of them have previously served as commander in chief, as he has. 

President Joe Biden is the current commander in chief. 

We rate claims that Trump said Trump is now commander in chief False.

 
Our Sources

Instagram post, Nov. 12, 2023

C-SPAN, Former President Trump Campaigns in Claremont, New Hampshire, Nov. 11, 2023

 

Hail to the commander in chief: It’s President Joe Biden, not former President Donald Trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino