Fact Check: Did Trump say Democrats would start endless war in Middle East if they win midterms?
WASHINGTON, DC: As the midterm elections are less than a month away and the Democrats are projected to win, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that President Donald Trump said that the Democrats will start an endless war in the Middle East if they win.
The claim has sparked concerns and criticisms, prompting a fact-check of the rumor.
Claim: Donald Trump says Democrats will start a war in Middle East
The claim appeared as a post on X, which stated, “Donald Trump claims if Democrats win control of Congress they’ll start a forever war in the Middle East.”
The post has garnered tens of thousands of views as of this writing, drawing conflicting reactions from online users. While many accused Trump of hypocrisy for the alleged remark, indicating that they believe the claim, a few others expressed skepticism, questioning the authenticity of the viral rumor and calling for a fact check.
Fact Check: The claim was intended as satire
The claim, however, is false, as there are no records of the president making such a statement ahead of the much-awaited election.
There are no official statements, announcements, press conferences, or social media posts by Trump in which he stated that if Democrats win control of Congress, they’ll start a forever war in the Middle East.
If Trump had really made such a remark, prominent news media outlets would have widely covered it, making headlines, but a search on Google and other search engines like Bing for the claim yielded no relevant results.
Additionally, the claim originated from an X account, ‘The Halfway Post,’ which describes itself in the bio as ‘satire.’
Donald Trump considers joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen war
The claim surfaced as Trump continues to garner criticism for the conflict in the Middle East, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a rise in gas prices.
Trump has also confirmed that he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in its retaliation against Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen following a deadly attack on an international airport in Saudi’s Riyadh last week.
“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump told reporters last Saturday. “We just found out about the recent attack. So, we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” he continued.
Trump’s comments came as the Saudi government revealed that the kingdom was requesting “urgent defense support” from the US following the attacks, adding that the US needed to intervene “as soon as possible” to help the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen fight the Houthis.
