Get PolitiFact in your inbox.

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke March 21, 2023

Fake statement attributed to Donald Trump about Kevin McCarthy emerges amid flurry of arrest posts

If Your Time is short

  • This isn’t an authentic statement.
 

On March 18, former President Donald Trump claimed he would be arrested the following week in an investigation he soon described as a "witch hunt." But after he made that announcement on his social media platform Truth Social, a different statement about a "witch hunt" started to circulate online. 

"If Kevin McCarthy doesn’t end these investigations immediately, I will direct my supporters in Congress to vote to end his speakership and I will have no choice but to leak some ‘interesting videos’ I took of him at Mar-a-Lago!" read what looked like a statement from Trump, replete with his Save America letterhead and delivered in all caps. "End the witch hunt now!"

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The date on the purported statement is March 18, 2022 — nearly a year before McCarthy was elected speaker in January 2023.

Featured Fact-check

We found no evidence that this is an authentic statement from Trump. It doesn't appear on his website, where other statements are posted, nor did we find any news coverage about an alleged video of McCarthy at Mar-a-Lago. 

Sign up for PolitiFact texts

On March 18, 2023, Trump did post a statement on his website about a "witch hunt," but he was referring to a grand jury in New York that may indict him in connection with a hush money payment. 

We rate claims that this is an authentic statement from Trump False.

 

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

Fake statement attributed to Donald Trump about Kevin McCarthy emerges amid flurry of arrest posts

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up