Category: Not Factual

Trump Praises Kavanaugh as Hero After Tariff Ruling Loss

President Donald Trump praised Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as his “new hero” on Saturday morning, along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, after the Court voted 6-3 to strike down his emergency tariff authority on Friday. The decision included votes against Trump from Chief Justice John Roberts and two Trump-appointed justices, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, alongside the three Democratic-appointed justices. Trump’s public embrace of the three dissenters revealed his deliberate strategy to reward judicial loyalty and punish perceived disloyalty.

On Friday evening, Trump responded to the tariff ruling by attacking the majority justices, claiming their decision was “ridiculous” and that the justices who voted against him “should be ashamed of themselves.” He specifically targeted his own appointees Gorsuch and Barrett, claiming they violated an implicit obligation by ruling against him and complaining that “this never seems to happen with Democrats,” who he alleged vote as a bloc in their own interest regardless of the case merits.

Trump’s escalating posts throughout Friday night revealed his transactional view of judicial appointments. He complained that he did not appoint Chief Justice Roberts, blaming Roberts for allowing “foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years to continue to do so.” His final evening post urged Republicans to “Unite, stick together, and WIN,” framing judicial independence as party disloyalty rather than constitutional obligation.

By Saturday morning, Trump shifted to praising the three justices who sided with him, declaring Kavanaugh his “new hero” and asserting without evidence that all three dissenters wanted to “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.” This pattern of public reward and punishment for judicial decisions directly contradicts the principle of an independent judiciary, positioning judges as political operatives accountable to the executive.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-wakes-up-blurting-praise-for-my-new-hero-and-its-about-his-devastating-court-loss/)

Trump FDA Allows Deceptive Food Labels Despite Ban Pledge

Trump’s FDA announced in February 2025 that it would allow food manufacturers to label products “no artificial colors” even when they contain potentially dangerous substances like titanium dioxide, provided the dyes are not petroleum-based. This reversal contradicts the agency’s earlier 2025 pressure on companies to phase out petroleum-based dyes entirely and represents a significant retreat from the stated goals of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, whose Make America Healthy Again movement positioned removing toxins from food as a cornerstone policy.

Health experts and consumer advocates criticize the new labeling standard as deceptive and ineffective. Thomas Galligan, principal scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, stated that the move “is going to cause confusion and allow some companies to mislead folks about the colors that are present in their foods,” noting that the rules are already riddled with loopholes enabling consumer deception. Galligan emphasized that a complete ban is the only effective measure to protect consumers, contradicting claims by Kennedy and the FDA that the policy represents progress.

Titanium dioxide, a naturally derived ingredient now permitted under the new rules, is banned in the European Union because regulators could not conclude it is safe and expressed concern it damages genes. The substance accumulates in organs, is a potential carcinogen, and is linked to neurotoxicity, intestinal inflammation, reproductive damage, and birth defects. The Environmental Working Group identified nearly 2,000 U.S. food products that may contain titanium dioxide, with estimates as high as 11,000, concentrated heavily in candy, cakes, cookies, and desserts.

Kennedy defended the policy as enabling companies to adopt “safer, naturally derived alternatives,” framing it as advancing the Make America Healthy Again agenda. However, the Environmental Working Group co-founder Ken Cook characterized the shift as “another broken promise,” stating that Trump and Kennedy pledged outright bans on dangerous food chemical additives to their base but instead settled for unenforceable handshake agreements with industry, leaving accountability and enforcement entirely uncertain.

The FDA has ignored a 2023 petition from five major U.S. public health advocacy groups requesting withdrawal of titanium dioxide approval for food use. Meanwhile, more than 25 states are independently considering bans on synthetic food dyes and other food chemical additives, with West Virginia and Texas having already enacted restrictions, effectively replacing federal action with state-level protection.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/fda-artificial-colors-food)

Trump Claims He Screamed at Macron Over Drug Price Tariffs

President Donald Trump claimed during a campaign event in Rome, Georgia on Thursday that he screamed at French President Emmanuel Macron during a phone call, threatening him with 100% tariffs on wine and champagne until Macron agreed to raise drug prices in France. Trump stated he called multiple world leaders with similar ultimatums, describing Macron as capitulating to his demands after the tariff threat, though Trump provided no verification of these conversations occurring.

Trump used the alleged exchange to promote his second-term drug pricing claims, stating he has reduced American drug costs by “400, 500, even 600%” by forcing other nations to lower their prices. He characterized the situation as necessary because the United States had been paying the highest drug prices globally and his intervention allegedly brought American prices to match the world’s lowest rates.

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell directly contradicted Trump’s account, calling it “pure hallucination from start to finish” and noting that French presidents lack direct control over their country’s drug pricing, which is determined through regulatory and legislative processes. O’Donnell stated Trump fabricated the conversation entirely and that everyone in the cabinet room where Trump previously told the story knew it was false.

Trump has previously publicized private communications with Macron, including posting the French president’s text message to Truth Social in January 2026, where Macron explicitly rejected Trump’s Greenland annexation ambitions. This history of weaponizing communications with allies undermines credibility in his current claims about negotiating drug prices through coercion.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/youre-gonna-do-it-trump-says-he-screamed-at-macron-in-wild-phone-call/)

Trump Vows Executive Order Voter ID Mandate Bypassing Congress

President Donald Trump announced Friday via social media that he would issue an executive order mandating voter identification for midterm elections if Congress does not pass legislation to that effect. Trump stated, “There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!” and claimed there are “legal reasons” supporting such an order, though he provided no specifics. The House passed the SAVE America Act on Wednesday with unanimous Republican support, requiring states to obtain documentary proof of citizenship before voter registration and imposing new mail-in ballot restrictions.

Legal experts directly contradicted Trump’s authority to unilaterally alter election procedures. Stanford law professor Nate Persily stated the Constitution explicitly grants election regulation power to state legislatures, not the president, and that “the Constitution is clear on this.” Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law, said any executive order requiring states to comply with Trump’s voter ID mandate would “similarly be found to be unconstitutional” based on a federal judge’s January ruling that permanently blocked a prior Trump executive order attempting to alter voting laws. Trump issued that sweeping order in March 2025 seeking to impose mail-in ballot deadlines and citizenship proof requirements, which a federal court determined exceeded presidential authority.

The SAVE America Act now faces a Senate vote requiring 60 votes to succeed—an unlikely threshold given Democratic opposition and Republican defections. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the first Republican senator to oppose the bill, noting that GOP colleagues claimed in 2021 to oppose federal election mandates imposed on states. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer characterized the legislation as imposing “Jim Crow type laws to the entire country” and declared it “dead on arrival in the Senate.” Democrats argue voter ID laws are designed to disenfranchise voters, emphasizing that voting by noncitizens is already illegal and exceedingly rare.

Persily connected Trump’s voter ID push to broader attempts to federalize election administration, including the FBI’s recent seizure of ballots and voter records from Fulton County, Georgia—a seizure Trump’s continued false claims about the 2020 election have motivated. Persily stated Trump’s push represents a coordinated effort: “It’s not an isolated tweet here, right? There’s a lot that’s going on. So you’ve got the action in the legislature, in Congress, you’ve got these, the earlier executive order, you have the seizing of the ballots and other materials from Fulton County, right? And so it’s all of a piece with the desire to have greater federal oversight of elections.”

Trump’s pattern of attempting to circumvent constitutional limits on presidential power reflects his stated goal to federalize election administration from states he deems incapable of running elections honestly, specifically targeting Democratic-led jurisdictions. His explicit threat to impose voter ID requirements “whether approved by Congress or not” contradicts the constitutional separation of powers and follows his documented history of pressuring state officials to overturn legitimate election results.

(Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-vows-voter-id-requirements-midterms-rcna259018)

Trump Attacks Oklahoma GOP Governor Stitt Over Governors Summit Dispute

President Donald Trump attacked Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt on Truth Social on Wednesday, calling the Republican leader a “RINO” (Republican In Name Only) for claiming Trump excluded all Democratic governors from an upcoming White House meeting scheduled for February 20. Stitt, who chairs the National Governors Association, stated the group was withdrawing from the annual summit because Trump had not invited Democratic members, who hold equal standing in the organization.

Trump denied Stitt’s assertion, posting that invitations went to all governors except two he deemed “not worthy of being there”: Colorado Governor Jared Polis, whom Trump accused of incarcerating a cancer patient in solitary confinement for contesting alleged voter fraud, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore, whom Trump attacked for falsely claiming military medals and mishandling Baltimore’s recovery from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Moore serves as vice chair of the National Governors Association.

Trump stated he had extended invitations to two of his prominent Democratic critics—Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, whom he labeled a “SLOB,” and California Governor Gavin Newsom, whom he called “horrendous” and used his derogatory nickname “Newscum”—despite what he characterized as their poor performance in office. The president concluded by expressing willingness to meet Republican governors and “some of the Democrats Governors who were worthy of being invited.”

In response to the dispute, Stitt wrote that because the NGA’s mission requires representing all 55 governors, the association would no longer facilitate the event or include it in its official program. Trump dismissed this decision as false, reiterating his intent to proceed with the meeting while excluding only Polis and Moore.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-attacks-rino-republican-governor-in-bomb-throwing-social-media-post/)

Trump Repeats Debunked Lies on Inflation Immigration Elections

During an NBC interview with anchor Tom Llamas on Wednesday, President Donald Trump repeated debunked falsehoods about inflation, immigration, and elections while Llamas largely declined to challenge the inaccuracies in real time. Trump claimed inflation was “almost no inflation” at 1.2% over three months, but the year-over-year rate in December 2025 was 2.7%—far from negligible—and the monthly figures were 3% in September and 2.7% in November. Trump also falsely claimed he inherited “the worst inflation in the history of our country,” when the year-over-year rate in December 2024 was only 2.9%, compared to historical highs of 23.7% in 1920.

On gas prices, Trump stated the national average reached $1.99 per gallon last week, but AAA data showed the actual national average was approximately $2.89 on Wednesday. GasBuddy found only 18 to 34 stations out of roughly 150,000 tracked nationwide offered gas under $2 during the referenced period—0.018% of all U.S. stations. Trump also claimed “$18 trillion” in foreign investment into the country, a fabrication; the White House’s own website documented “$9.6 trillion” in announced investments, itself an exaggerated figure heavily padded with vague pledges and bilateral trade statements unrelated to direct U.S. investment.

Trump falsely asserted he won the 2020 election, claiming “I won three times” when he won in 2016 and 2024 but lost in 2020. He denied suggesting he wanted to nationalize elections despite stating in a separate Monday interview: “The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” Trump also repeated unsubstantiated claims that elections in Detroit, Philadelphia, and Atlanta are “extremely corrupt” without presenting evidence, and falsely alleged cheating occurred in Fulton County, Georgia during 2020—claims debunked years ago by Georgia’s Republican elections chief and Trump’s own first-term Justice Department appointees.

On immigration, Trump claimed Biden “allowed in our country…25 million people,” a fabrication; federal records documented under 11 million “encounters” through December 2024, with estimates of roughly 2.2 million additional “gotaways.” Trump also repeated an unsubstantiated claim about “11,888 murderers” Biden allegedly allowed into the country, mischaracterizing Department of Homeland Security data. Trump stated foreign governments “emptied” jails into America, particularly naming Venezuela and “the Congo,” claims experts from those nations and global prison scholars have told CNN are baseless.

Llamas responded to most false statements with minimal acknowledgment—saying “right,” “yeah,” or offering no pushback—allowing misinformation to circulate unchallenged on air. Trump also denied knowing why Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attended an FBI raid on Georgia’s election hub, contradicting Gabbard’s own written statement. NBC published a separate fact-check article but failed to correct Trump’s falsehoods during the live interview itself, leaving viewers without immediate corrective information on critical policy matters.

(Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/politics/fact-check-trump-nbc-interview)

Trump Threatens Trevor Noah Lawsuit Over Epstein Grammy Joke

President Donald Trump threatened legal action against comedian Trevor Noah on Monday after Noah joked during the Grammy Awards that Trump spent time on Jeffrey Epstein’s island. Trump denied any connection to Epstein, calling Noah’s performance “lousy” and asserting he has “nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein.” Trump also attacked author Michael Wolff, describing him as a “sleaze bag” who conspired with Epstein to damage his presidency.

The president claimed that newly released Justice Department files containing 3.5 million Epstein-related documents “absolve” him of improper conduct. Trump stated the DOJ should move on from the Epstein matter and asserted the files instead reveal misconduct by Democrats, Bill Clinton, and Bill Gates, but not him. When asked directly by ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott whether he planned to sue Noah, Trump confirmed his intention and elaborated on his grievances.

Trump accused Democrats of weaponizing Epstein allegations against him politically. He stated that Democrats only pushed Epstein-related claims as a strategy to undermine his election chances, saying “The Democrats are pushing it” and “it’s turning out to be the Democrats that were with — and conspired with — Epstein.” Trump referenced emails between Wolff and Epstein obtained from the released files, including a 2016 message in which Wolff offered to “help finish” Trump before the election.

Released Epstein correspondence documented Wolff’s discussions with the deceased sex offender about targeting Trump, with Wolff writing in 2015 that Trump’s denial of visiting Epstein’s properties would give Epstein “valuable PR and political currency” to use against him. Trump claimed this email exchange demonstrated a coordinated effort to harm his political standing. He announced over the weekend his intention to sue Wolff based on these communications.

Trump ended his remarks by celebrating his return to the presidency despite what he characterized as a Democratic conspiracy to prevent his election. He said the released files proved Democrats “were working together to try and help me lose the election,” but acknowledged his presence in the Oval Office indicated that conspiracy ultimately failed.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-thrashes-lightweight-trevor-noah-and-democrats-pushing-epstein-claims-in-oval-office-rant/)

Trump Launches TrumpRx Website, Exaggerates Drug Savings

President Trump unveiled TrumpRx.gov on Thursday at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, a website designed to direct consumers to purchase prescription drugs at reduced prices. The site itself does not sell medications but serves as a search portal linking users to pharmacies and manufacturer websites where they can buy drugs directly. Trump claimed the platform would help Americans save money and improve their health.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who oversees Medicare and Medicaid, stated at the event that offering fertility drugs through the site would result in a surge of “Trump babies.” Trump negotiated deals with major pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce certain drug prices and increase domestic production in exchange for exempting the companies from threatened tariffs on foreign-made medications. The administration framed these agreements as a victory in controlling drug costs ahead of midterm elections, positioning affordability as a campaign issue.

Researchers specializing in drug pricing analysis issued warnings that TrumpRx would not deliver the savings Trump promised, projecting that many consumers would still pay excessive amounts for medications obtained through the platform. The site represents Trump’s attempt to claim credit for drug price reductions while relying on voluntary corporate participation rather than regulatory enforcement or government price negotiations that have historically achieved more significant savings for patients.

(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/health/trumprx-online-drugstore-prices.html)

Trump Denies Sending Gabbard to Georgia FBI Raid

President Donald Trump told NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas he did not know why Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was present during an FBI raid on the Fulton County Election Hub in Georgia on January 28, stating only that “a lot of the cheating comes from, it’s international cheating.” This claim directly contradicts Gabbard’s own written statement to senators, in which she asserted that her presence was requested by Trump himself and executed under her statutory authority to coordinate intelligence related to election security.

Gabbard wrote to Senator Mark Warner and Representative Jim Himes that her role as Director of National Intelligence authorized her to investigate foreign and malign influence on elections. However, Trump’s disavowal of knowledge about her presence during the raid creates an explicit factual contradiction with her account. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche attempted to clarify the situation, stating that Gabbard was “in the area where the search took place” but “not part of this investigation,” while also calling her an “expert” on election integrity without explanation.

Trump has offered multiple conflicting explanations for Gabbard’s presence at the Georgia location. At a Kennedy Center screening on January 29, Trump said Gabbard was “working very hard” to investigate 2020 election fraud. At the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, Trump claimed it was Attorney General Pam Bondi who sent Gabbard to Georgia, stating that “she went in at Pam’s insistence” to examine votes from the state.

The contradictions among Trump, Gabbard, Blanche, and Bondi reflect the absence of a coherent official account regarding the purpose of Gabbard’s involvement in the Georgia operation. Gabbard now faces intense scrutiny as whistleblowers have raised concerns about her conduct as DNI director, including allegations that she has obstructed efforts to provide reports to Congress.

The discrepancies underscore Trump’s pattern of using intelligence officials to investigate claims of election fraud that lack substantiation, while simultaneously denying direct involvement in those same operations when questioned by press outlets.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-tells-tom-llamas-he-doesnt-know-why-tulsi-gabbard-was-in-georgia-for-fbi-raid-she-claims-he-sent-her/)

Trump Deflects on Minneapolis Killings with Incoherent Water Response

During a Wednesday interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas at the White House, Trump responded incoherently to questions about the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Trump stated he was “not happy with the two incidents” but focused instead on criticizing the negative publicity surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pivoting to comments about U.S. naval operations in the Caribbean targeting drug boats.

When Llamas asked Trump directly about the Minneapolis killings, Trump deflected by claiming “nobody talks about all of the murderers that we’re taking out of our country” and shifted the conversation to offshore operations. Trump’s non-sequitur response about “the waters where we knock out boats” left the interviewer visibly confused, with Llamas repeating back “The — the — the waters?” in evident bewilderment before attempting to move forward with the interview.

The deflection exemplifies Trump’s pattern of evading accountability for federal law enforcement actions. An FBI supervisor resigned after the Trump administration pressured her to abandon a civil rights investigation into the Good shooting, while federal prosecutors simultaneously subpoenaed Minnesota Democratic officials in what constitutes politicized weaponization of the Justice Department.

Trump has also made unsubstantiated claims that a woman protesting the shooting was a “paid agitator” without evidence, and his administration has appealed court orders restricting ICE retaliation against peaceful Minneapolis protesters. These actions demonstrate the administration’s strategy of suppressing investigation and accountability while attacking those documenting federal actions.

Trump’s confused response during the Llamas interview reflects his administration’s broader refusal to address substantive questions about fatal law enforcement incidents, instead treating inquiries as opportunities to promote unrelated policy talking points and attack critics.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/trump-ice-minneapolis-shootings-interview-nbc-video-b2914752.html)

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