Fact Check: Did Trump ask Supreme Court to remove California from US ahead of midterms?
WASHINGTON, DC: A viral social media post claims President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to remove the state of California from the United States. The claim surfaced ahead of the much-anticipated midterm election, sparking mockery and criticism among online users, with many being skeptical and calling for a fact-check.
Claim: Trump asked Supreme Court to remove California from USA
The claim spread as a post on Facebook, according to which Trump asked the Supreme Court to remove California from the USA.
The claim surfaced after the Trump administration, on Monday, November 2, in a last-minute effort, moved to the highest court to seek to block around 20,000 alleged illegal mail-in ballots from noncitizens.
The claim has also spread across several social media platforms, garnering hundreds of thousands of views as of this writing. Many believe that the president actually said it, while others called it fake and called for a fact-check.
Fact Check: The claim originated as satire
The claim, however, is false, as there is no evidence of the president making such a request to the Supreme Court.
There are no publicly available statements, transcripts, press conferences, or social media posts from the president or the White House that support the claim, which, if true, would have made headlines. A search on Google for the claim also yielded no reports in credible news outlets.
Moreover, the claim originated from a Facebook page called ‘Andy Borowitz,’ which is the official handle of an online satirical newspaper called ‘The Borowitz Report.’
Donald Trump's bid to block California's mail-in ballots
The claim is a satirical take on the Trump administration's request to the Supreme Court to overturn a lower-court ruling that denied its request to block the counting of California's 20,000 mail-in ballots allegedly cast by noncitizens.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also sought a temporary block on counting, arguing that a limited injunction would preserve the ballots while their eligibility is investigated, without canceling any votes.
"Once illegally cast ballots are counted and commingled with lawful votes, the resulting harm is impossible to remedy," the Justice Department wrote in a court filing.
The state has pushed back against this, arguing that the federal list could contain errors and lead to eligible voters being wrongly denied their right to vote.
The lower court also highlighted that states have the authority to manage their own election procedures and warned against granting the DOJ’s request, citing election disruption.
