Fact Check: Did Michelle Obama say Democratic Party should dump Clinton over Epstein ties?
WASHINGTON, DC: According to a viral post circulating on social media platforms, former First Lady Michelle Obama said that the Democratic Party should dump former President Bill Clinton over his ties to the late, convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein. The claim has sparked speculation among online users, prompting verification.
Claim: Michelle Obama said Democratic Party should dump Bill Clinton
The claim surfaced in a Facebook post where Barack Obama’s wife said that she believes that the Democratic Party should dump Clinton and stop pretending that he’s some kind of saint.
"We all want people to look at Donald Trump's connections to Epstein. But at the same time we're supposed to ignore Clinton's," the former First Lady allegedly said sarcastically.
The ‘Becoming’ author highlighted that it sets a double standard and confuses the voters. "There's not gonna be a blue wave if we keep protecting the worst the party has to offer," she said, according to the post.
The claim drew mixed reactions from online users, with many interpreting it as an internal struggle within the party, while others remained skeptical and called for a fact-check.
Fact Check: The claim originated as satire
The claim, however, is false, as there are no reports of the former president’s wife making such a remark about Clinton.
There are no press releases, social media posts, official announcements, or statements from Michelle Obama telling the Democratic Party to dump the former president for his ties to Epstein.
Given the controversy and sensationalism of the claim, if Michelle has really made such a statement, prominent news media outlets would have widely covered it, making headlines and triggering nationwide debates.
Moreover, a closer look at the post revealed that it has a small overlay text in the bottom corner that reads, ‘Nothing on this page is real.’ Hence, the claim was intended as satire, made for the sake of clickbait.
Bill Clinton's decades-long ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Clinton had a decade-long relationship with Epstein, with the late financier giving Bill's 1992 campaign a $1,000 donation, then sliding Hillary $20,000 during her 2000 run for the Senate, according to public records.
Additionally, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell visited the White House 17 times during Clinton's presidency, starting in 1993.
In the same year as the infamous Africa trip, Epstein reportedly also visited the then-president at his Harlem office, which was tied to the Clinton Foundation.
Clinton’s longtime aide Doug Band told Vanity Fair in a 2020 interview that he had tried repeatedly to keep Epstein at arm’s length after the 2002 trip, but Clinton just couldn’t quit him.
