Fact Check: Did White House staffers say Donald Trump's 'terrible body odor' obstructs his agenda?

WASHINGTON, DC: A rumor has been swirling that anonymous White House staffers claimed Donald Trump’s "terrible body odor" is obstructing his ability to govern.

It didn’t take long for this icky claim to make the rounds on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where people were sharing an article pushing the story. 

One Facebook page manager even took things a step further, posting on Tuesday, March 18 that Trump "can't control his bowels" and dubbing him "Diaper Don." The post linked to an article with the headline: "Trump Staffers Say His Terrible Body Odor Is Obstructing His Agenda." 

The post further read, "Melania won't kiss him, because of his horrible halitosis, (which explains the big hats.) Relook at the televised meetings. Everyone sits far, far away. Obama took one for the team and sat next to him at Jimmy Carter's memorial."

Fact Check: False

According to Snopes, the whole "Trump smells" story is a total fabrication—especially considering the president is a known germaphobe. The now-viral article was actually written by comedian, political satirist, and poet Dash MacIntyre—who is known for his over-the-top satire and dislike for Trump.

The piece was published on February 4 on his Medium.com blog and The Halfway Post, a satire publication that describes itself as "America's number one source of halfway real satirical news." It even has an "About" section that describes its content as "halfway true comedy and satire," with similar disclaimers plastered across its Instagram, Threads, and X accounts.

In the article, MacIntyre claimed, "Let's remember that it's widely agreed Trump smells like a dying old man whose Big Mac sauce drowned organs are rotting from the inside out. Wannabe dictators constantly obsess over their media image because their strongmen personas depend on never admitting to any personal flaw or mistake, so let's help ol' Uncle Sam and the Constitution out a bit by reminding America every chance we get that Trump smells like s***."

"What an amusing and patriotic way to fight back against Trump's pugilistic egomania of sociopathic narcissism as he tries to dismantle our democracy and make himself a totalitarian!" he continued.

The satire piece also claimed that Trump had declared his body odor "protected by presidential immunity," and that Secret Service agents confirmed his code name was "Roast Beef" due to his "foul deli odor."

Dash MacIntyre's obsession with Donald Trump’s ‘odor’ and past presidential mishaps

Believe it or not, this wasn’t even the first time Dash MacIntyre took a swing at Donald Trump’s alleged odor.

A quick search of The Halfway Post’s X account shows he’s been making satirical posts about Trump’s supposed stench since at least December 2023.

For example, on December 27, 2023, he wrote: "BREAKING: Donald Trump just claimed his body odor 'is protected by executive privilege, client-attorney privilege and presidential immunity.'"

This isn’t the first time Snopes has fact-checked some rather interesting bodily function rumors about US presidents. 

Past claims they investigated included a photo allegedly showing Trump with a diarrhea stain on his golf pants. Another picture claimed he was wearing a diaper.

Another claim was that former president Joe Biden lost control of his bowels while trying to sit in a nonexistent chair.

Another report investigated whether William Howard Taft, weighing over 300 pounds, had to be helped out of a bathtub after getting stuck. 

Snopes confirmed that while Taft’s bathtub debacle is actually a real piece of history, the rest is just unfounded garbage.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.