Fact Check: Did Trump announce US VISA for countries to set foot on the Moon?

WASHINGTON, DC: After President Donald Trump’s social media post stating “The moon is ours,” a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming to show a post by the president, declaring the Moon is a US territory and that countries need a US visa to set foot on it. The claim has sparked mockery, with many calling for a fact-check.

Claim: Donald Trump declares Moon a US territory

The rumor spread as a screenshot, claiming to show a post by Trump on his official Truth Social handles. 

The alleged post states, “I have just officially signed EXECUTIVE ORDER 25-8647, which officially declares the MOON a territory of the U.S.A. We got there first!"

"We put our beautiful American flag right in the dirt, and nobody else can touch it! The Moon is packed with incredible RARE MOON METALS which no one else will have!"

"Total superiority, amazing quality-nobody else has them, and nobody else is allowed to touch them!"

"And starting immediately, any foreign space travelers-whether they call them astronauts, cosmonauts, or whatever they call them over in China and India, like Chinanuts or Indianuts-they are going to need a full, high-security U.S. VISA just to set foot on our Moon!"

"No VISA, no Moon! If they try to land on U.S. Lunar Soil without proper border clearance, our SPACE FORCE will deal with them very strongly and quickly! We are securing our border on Earth, and now we are securing our border in SPACE! AMERICA FIRST! MOON FIRST! MAGA!”

Fact Check: The claim originated as satire

However, the screenshot is fake and fabricated, as Trump has posted nothing like this on any of his social media handles.

A search on his official Truth Social for the text yielded no results. A search on his commentary accounts that archive all his posts and other social media handles like X and Facebook also did not yield any results.

Moreover, a closer look at the screenshot reveals a watermark stating, “@Mrs Putin Satire,” indicating that it originated from a parody account that has posted similar fake and fabricated screenshots.

Donald Trump claims 'Moon' amid geographic name changes

The claim surfaced amid the Trump administration’s recent geographic naming changes, such as signing an executive order directing the federal government to use “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico” and renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

Trump also shared another post, with a picture of the moon emblazoned with the words, “The moon is ours.”