Fact Check: Did a top GOP official quit the party over Trump's call to remove Zelenskyy?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the controversy surrounding the diesel deal between the United States and Russia, a rumor began circulating online claiming that a GOP official has quit the Republican Party over President Donald Trump’s call to remove Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The claim has sparked speculation, prompting a fact check.
Claim: GOP official left the Republican Party
According to a viral post that surfaced on X, a top GOP official said, "Trump calling for Zelenskyy's removal is the last straw. I can't pretend anymore Putin doesn't own him somehow. And Trump is such an amoral pervert, I can't even say a pee tape existing is a crazy idea. I hereby quit the Republican Party."
The post that doesn't name the official has garnered more than three hundred thousand views as of this writing, with social media users in the comments slamming Trump, indicating that they believe the claim to be true, while a few others questioned its authenticity.
Fact Check: The claim originated from a satire account
The claim, however, is false, as there are no reports of the top Republican official quitting the party over Trump’s remark to remove Zelenskyy.
There are no official confirmations, statements, press releases, or social media posts from the Republican National Committee that support the claim, which, if true, would have been widely covered by prominent news media outlets, making headlines.
However, a search on Google for the claim yielded no such media reports except for the social media post sharing the claim.
Moreover, the claim was posted by a popular parody account called ‘The Halfway Post,’ which describes itself in the bio as ‘satire.’
Donald Trump calls for Volodymyr Zelenskyy's replacement
The claim surfaced after Trump, on Saturday, called for Zelenskyy’s replacement, saying ‘he should stop’ after the Ukrainian President criticized the US-Russia diesel deal.
“Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“Zelenskyy could have settled this war many times, many, many times, and he chooses not to. Very difficult. It’s a war that should have never been started. If I were present, if the election weren’t rigged, I would have been president and that war would have never started,” Trump said.
