Fact Check: Did China slam Trump's 2020 election interference claim, calling it 'hilarious'?
WASHINGTON, DC: After President Donald Trump claimed that China carried out a coordinated campaign to influence the 2020 US election and prevent his return to the White House, a rumor began circulating online claiming that China had responded to his allegations, calling it "hilarious." The claim has sparked questions, prompting an investigation. Let us find out if the claim is true.
Claim: China slams Donald Trump's election interference claim as 'hilarious'
According to a post on X, China has slammed Trump’s allegation of 2020 election interference.
The viral post states, “BREAKING: Chinese officials are calling Trump’s claim that they tried to make him lose any election ‘hilarious’ because he’s ‘single-handedly ending a century of American hegemony without China having to spend a single dollar or fire a single bullet.’”
The claim has been amplified by several accounts on the platforms, garnering tens of thousands of views.
Fact Check: False, the claim originated as satire
Although China did slam Trump's claims of US election meddling as 'pure fabrications,' the claim that it called ‘hilarious’ is not supported by facts.
Also, the statement suggesting that Trump is ‘single-handedly ending a century of American hegemony without China having to spend a single dollar’ is baseless.
A search on Google for the claim yielded no relevant results by prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would have made headlines.
Moreover, the claim originated from a parody account on X called ‘The Halfway Post,’ which describes itself in the bio as ‘satire.’
"The relevant claims made by the US side are pure fabrications and malicious smears that have long since been proven to be groundless statements," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a news conference when asked about Trump's claims.
"China has ... no interest in the US election and has never interfered in it," he added.
"We urge the US side to reflect on its own actions, stop baselessly smearing China, refrain from making an issue of China in its elections, and do more to benefit China-US relations," Lin concluded.
Donald Trump's claim of election interference is not supported by evidence
According to Trump, the newly declassified intelligence showed China obtained sensitive voter information during the 2020 election cycle.
"The People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files," Trump said.
"The Chinese government sought to identify US journalists who had reported negatively on the US President, and pay them large sums of money to write more negative articles about him," he said.
However, the US intelligence concluded there were no indications that any foreign government altered the technical aspects of the 2020 presidential election.
