Former President Donald Trump fueled controversy on Saturday night by posting a conspiracy theory on his Truth Social website, claiming that President Joe Biden had been assassinated in 2020 and substituted with a clone or robot. The action, which was roundly condemned, is the latest example of Trump promoting unsubstantiated claims to his millions of followers.
Around 10 p.m. on Saturday, Trump reposted a tweet from an anonymous account that stated, "There is no #JoeBiden—executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. >#Democrats don't know the difference". The original tweet was written by a user with a fairly modest following, but Trump's re-tweet put it in front of almost 10 million individuals. The White House did not have an immediate comment about Trump's motives or whether he actually believes the allegation.
Trump's sharing of the post is consistent with a pattern of spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation. Throughout his career, he has consistently posted claims about him winning the 2020 elections, the birthplace of former President Barack Obama, and other disproven narratives. His most recent post has been roundly criticized by political observers and fact-checkers, who observe that such posts erode public confidence and provoke discord.
Critics were quick to identify the absurdity of the allegation.“If Biden had said something like this, his entire cabinet would have invoked the 25th within the hour,” one Twitter user wrote, citing the constitutional provision for removing a president from office due to inability to serve. Others called Trump's behavior a "degradation of America" and were worried about the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories in political rhetoric.
No evidence confirms Biden was executed or replaced, and human cloning is still a scientific impossibility. The two presidents have been seen together in public and debated one another on numerous occasions since 2020. As of now, neither Trump nor his representatives have explained why he decided to share the post, and the White House has declined to comment further.
Trump's recent social media activities highlight repeated worries regarding the dissemination of misinformation and its influence on American democracy.
Around 10 p.m. on Saturday, Trump reposted a tweet from an anonymous account that stated, "There is no #JoeBiden—executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. >#Democrats don't know the difference". The original tweet was written by a user with a fairly modest following, but Trump's re-tweet put it in front of almost 10 million individuals. The White House did not have an immediate comment about Trump's motives or whether he actually believes the allegation.
Trump's sharing of the post is consistent with a pattern of spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation. Throughout his career, he has consistently posted claims about him winning the 2020 elections, the birthplace of former President Barack Obama, and other disproven narratives. His most recent post has been roundly criticized by political observers and fact-checkers, who observe that such posts erode public confidence and provoke discord.
Critics were quick to identify the absurdity of the allegation.“If Biden had said something like this, his entire cabinet would have invoked the 25th within the hour,” one Twitter user wrote, citing the constitutional provision for removing a president from office due to inability to serve. Others called Trump's behavior a "degradation of America" and were worried about the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories in political rhetoric.
No evidence confirms Biden was executed or replaced, and human cloning is still a scientific impossibility. The two presidents have been seen together in public and debated one another on numerous occasions since 2020. As of now, neither Trump nor his representatives have explained why he decided to share the post, and the White House has declined to comment further.
Trump's recent social media activities highlight repeated worries regarding the dissemination of misinformation and its influence on American democracy.
(Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates.
Read More News on
(Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates.
