Did you see that statement from former president Donald Trump going viral on Thursday about President Joe Biden’s covid-19 diagnosis? It included racist phrases like “the China virus,” multiple references to Hercules, and was shared by countless Republican thought leaders — the best and brightest MAGA minds on the internet. But it’s completely fake, something that should’ve been obvious given the vocabulary.
“Donald Trump’s statement on Joe Biden testing positive for covid is a work of art,” tweeted Clay Travis, far-right sports journalist and MAGA believer.
“That last line!” Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of the Federalist and Trump-apologist of the first order, tweeted excitedly about a new statement from the neo-fascist.
The last line of the fake statement refers to the possibility that Vice President Kamala Harris could become president if Biden kicks the bucket. But see if you can spot any reason why this statement is clearly fake.
From Twitter:
Joe Biden, who many have said is our worst President, has come down with a case of the China virus, despite being vaccinated. I hope Sleepy Joe is able to bounce back quickly, much as I was. Doctors described my figth against the China virus as Heculean, and not meaning the woke Disney Hercules but rather the Kevin Sorbo one. The Lou Ferrigno one as well.
Joe, I wish you a speedy recovery, even though you are taking America in the wrong direction. No one wants Kamala!
As respectably journalists noted, the statement was bullshit. But did you catch the tells? While Trump often said “China virus” to refer to covid-19, there are plenty of red flags in the statement that should alert readers that this isn’t from the real Trump.
For one, Trump has never said the phrase “much as I was.” It’s simply un-Trumpian. He’d be much more likely to say “like I did” or something more direct. “Much as I was,” is a huge red flag. And then there’s the term “Herculean.” Again, Trump wouldn’t refer to Hercules like that. He’d say “like Hercules.”
It’s unclear who created this particular fake statement, though it could be any number of pranksters on the internet. But obviously you shouldn’t take everything you see on social media at face value — especially if your source is a MAGA influencer who thinks Trump did nothing wrong on January 6, 2021. As anyone with two brain cells and a pulse can see, Trump should definitely be in prison and it’s a complete failure of the American system that he’s not sitting in jail yet.