Maria Bartiromo has a long history of peddling conspiracy theories and falling for blatant hoaxes, so it probably shouldn’t be all that surprising that the MAGA-boosting Fox Business anchor was taken in this week by an obviously phony post purportedly made by Donald Trump.
While the president celebrated his 79th birthday over the weekend with a sparsely attended military parade through the streets of the nation’s capital, thousands of anti-Trump “No Kings” protests took place across the United States.
With the specter of millions of Americans taking to the streets to voice their displeasure with the current president and what they see as the nation’s descent into authoritarianism, a screenshot of a supposed Truth Social post from Trump mocking the demonstrations began making the rounds on social media and quickly went viral among MAGA supporters.
“A HUGE THANK YOU to all the ‘No Kings’ protesters yesterday! I was very concerned a king was trying to take my place, but thanks to your tireless efforts, I am STILL YOUR PRESIDENT!” the post stated. “Great job all!!!”
Despite the post being fabricated, the president’s eldest son shared it on Monday on his Instagram account, which currently boasts over nine million followers. “It’s not real, but it should be. I might have to make a phone call. Lol,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote alongside the phony Truth Social screed.
Apparently, nobody told Bartiromo or her producers that the president’s social media rant was a hoax, and she ended up running with it on Monday morning’s broadcast of her Fox Business Network program Mornings with Maria.
Towards the end of her interview with Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), in a moment first flagged by Mediaite, the pair grumbled about news reports that the president’s military parade was not well-attended, calling it “another left-wing lie” while insisting a “ton of people” showed up.
“They were focused on bleachers that were right next to where we were sitting,” the congressman added.
Bartiromo took that opportunity to bring up the fake Truth Social post, using it as an example of the president roundly dismissing the nationwide demonstrations – something she applauded Trump for supposedly writing.
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“I love the way the president handled it because, congressman, he put out a tweet,” she declared. “He writes: ‘A huge thank you to all the No Kings protesters yesterday. I was very concerned that a King was trying to take my place but thanks to your tireless efforts I am still your president! Great job all!’”
Turning back to Crenshaw, Bartiromo gleefully added: “The president had fun with that!”
Crenshaw, apparently unaware that she had just referenced a fake Trump post, laughed in response as they wrapped up the segment.
