Fact Check: Did Donald Trump threaten Barack Obama with Hatch Act for interfering in US foreign affairs?

WASHINGTON, DC: Since Donald Trump took office as the 47th president of the United States in January 2025, several rumors regarding the 78-year-old have circulated across social media, most of which have been debunked.

Recently, posts claiming Trump officially warned former President Barack Obama to stay out of foreign affairs or face charges for violating the Hatch Act have gone viral. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.

Claim: Donald Trump threatened Barack Obama with the Hatch Act

In April 2025, posts about Donald Trump warning Barack Obama to stay out of US foreign affairs, or he would risk violating the Hatch Act, a federal law that restricts political activities by federal employees, emerged on social media. 

David J Harris Jr, host of 'The Pulse' podcast on Newsmax, shared a post about it on April 27, which has since garnered more than 4,000 reactions and 1,200 comments.

The caption of the Facebook post, which contains a collage of Obama and Trump, reads, "President Trump has officially warned Barack Obama to stay out of America's foreign affairs or else face charges for violating the Hatch Act."

"This is after Obama made plans to visit El Salvador on his way to the NATO Summit in Costa Rica, which Trump was NOT invited to. Nor would he go," it continues.

"'He has no authority to speak on behalf of the United States. If Obama is brave enough to go, he'll face US marshals on his return," the caption further states.

Interestingly, different variations of the claim spread on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

Fact Check: No evidence to back claim that Trump threatened Barack Obama with Hatch Act

The claim appears to be false, as there is no evidence that Donald Trump issued any warning to Barack Obama regarding US foreign affairs or the Hatch Act, as per fact-checking outlet Snopes.

Moreover, there was no evidence of a NATO summit scheduled in Costa Rica, as the country is not a member of NATO and has no formal affiliation with the alliance. 

NATO summits are held in a NATO member country, and the next official one is scheduled to take place this year in The Hague, Netherlands, from June 24 to June 26, Snopes reported.

Furthermore, a search on search engines such as Google showed no proof that Obama "plans to visit El Salvador" as social media posts claimed.

Also, the purpose of the Hatch Act is to prohibit certain political activities by federal employees "to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation."

The law does not apply to former federal officials or private citizens, including former presidents such as Obama, according to Snopes.

The post originated as a satire

The viral post originated with America's Last Line of Defense (ALLOD) — a network of Facebook pages and websites, whose owners described the contents to be satirical, according to the fact-checking outlet.

Moreover, a small "ALLOD" watermark is visible in the bottom right corner of the image attached to the Facebook posts that have gone viral.

The ALLOD's primary Facebook page describes its content as "satire/parody" and an "entertainment website," and the intro section reads "Nothing on this page is real." The network has a history of sharing fabricated stories to generate shares and comments.

The About Page of the Dunning-Kruger Times, a website associated with ALLOD, mentions that everything on the website is fiction.

"It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined," it reads.