Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Elon Musk posted about Bessent altercation to 225 million followers — Elon Musk, who reportedly had a previous physical altercation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent when Bessent worked in the White House, posted a link to the Politico story about Bessent's confrontation with Bill Pulte to his 225 million followers on social media with the caption "Hmmmmmm," amplifying the story of internal administration conflict.

Supporting reports

• Oversight Democrats released Trump's birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein — House Oversight Democrats released a photograph of a birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein signed by Trump, which Trump and Vice President Vance had previously stated did not exist. The card contains a message referencing a "wonderful secret" shared between the two men. Trump's legal team announced plans to pursue litigation against the Wall Street Journal and its parent company News Corp, claiming defamation. Trump supporters disputed the signature's authenticity on social media, while reporters noted Trump frequently signed only his first name during the same era and that the card had been stored in Epstein's estate papers for over 20 years.

Supporting reports

• Speaker Mike Johnson retracted claim that Trump was FBI informant in Epstein case — Speaker Mike Johnson backed away from his previous statement that President Trump was an FBI informant in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Johnson's office released a modified statement reframing the claim to say Trump was "willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein" and had "kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago." The original claim that Trump served as an FBI informant was not supported by statements from the victims' attorney Brad Edwards, who made no such assertion.
• House Speaker Johnson walked back FBI informant claim about Trump — House Speaker Mike Johnson walked back the claim he made last week that Trump was an "FBI informant" against Epstein, saying he didn't know if he used the "right terminology," but that it's "much ado about nothing." The retreat from the claim reflected uncertainty about the basis for the allegation.

Supporting reports

• White House Press Secretary denied authenticity of Epstein birthday card — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement claiming the birthday card story is false and asserting that President Trump did not draw or sign the picture. She announced that Trump's legal team would "aggressively pursue litigation" against the Wall Street Journal and News Corp.
• White House Press Secretary falsely attributed signature analysis article to Daily Signal — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that the Daily Signal had published an article with "three separate signature analysts" concluding the letter's signature was not authentic. The Daily Signal published no such article. The Daily Wire, a different conservative outlet, published an article claiming "3 forensic analyses" but actually only ran the letter through AI models, which falsely claimed Trump had never used words like "enigma" that appear in the letter. Expert Thomas W. Vastrick, president of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, told the Washington Post the signature was "very consistent" with Trump's known signatures.

Supporting reports

• Trump and Republican officials blame Roy Cooper for Ukrainian refugee's murder using false claims about bail and criminal justice policy — President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Congressman Richard Hudson, and Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley publicly blamed former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) for the August 22 murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee killed by Decarlos Brown Jr. on a Charlotte train. Trump claimed Brown was "released on CASHLESS BAIL in January" due to Cooper's policies; Hudson attributed the killing to Cooper's "irresponsible policies"; Bondi issued an official DOJ statement linking the murder to "failed soft-on-crime policies." The article documents these claims as factually baseless: Brown's January release was for a misdemeanor 911 call, not a violent crime; North Carolina law caps Class 1 Misdemeanor sentences at 120 days regardless; Cooper's June 2020 executive order created only an advisory task force whose recommendations were never enacted and came after Brown's September 2020 release.
• Trump politicized Ukrainian refugee's death to attack bail reform — Trump politicized the killing of a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train to rail against cashless bail, saying "her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail," and calling on Republicans to vote for former RNC Chair Michael Whatley for U.S. Senate. The statement used a tragedy for partisan political gain.
• Congressman Hudson attributes murder to Cooper's policies in false social media post — Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC) posted on X on September 9 that "Because of irresponsible policies from our former Governor Roy Cooper's administration, [t]his brutal thug was set free and allowed to terrorize our community again and again" and that "This tragedy is the direct result of policies that put politics over public safety." The article establishes this claim is false: the suspect was released in January 2025 for a misdemeanor 911 call, not a violent crime; Cooper's June 2020 executive order created only an advisory task force whose recommendations were never enacted and came months before the suspect's actual release.

Supporting reports

• White House issued fact sheet claiming 100 faith-related policy victories — The White House published a promotional document titled "President Trump's Top 100 Victories for People of Faith" on September 8, 2025. The document lists claimed achievements across religious liberty, anti-Semitism enforcement, school choice, abortion funding restrictions, gender-related policies, military personnel reinstatement, DEI elimination, and Israel support. The document attributes these to executive orders, agency directives, proclamations, and administrative actions taken during the Trump administration's second term.

Supporting reports

• Trump posted vaccine-autism disproven claim on Truth Social — On Truth Social, Trump posted a video that promoted the long-discredited and debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. The video featured vaccine skeptic David Geier, who was hired to work as a senior data analyst in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on links between vaccines and autism.

Supporting reports

• House Speaker Johnson walked back FBI informant claim about Trump — House Speaker Mike Johnson walked back the claim he made last week that Trump was an "FBI informant" against Epstein, saying he didn't know if he used the "right terminology," but that it's "much ado about nothing." The retreat from the claim reflected uncertainty about the basis for the allegation.

Supporting reports

• Brian Kilmeade apologizes for remarks advocating execution of unhoused people with mental illness — Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade apologized on Sunday for comments made Wednesday in which he said people experiencing homelessness and mental illness should be executed via "lethal injection." The remarks came during discussion of a fatal stabbing by a man with schizophrenia. Kilmeade called his comments "extremely callous" and acknowledged that unhoused and mentally ill people "deserve our empathy and compassion." He remained employed by Fox News, contrasting with MSNBC's firing of analyst Matthew Dowd for separate remarks about Charlie Kirk's shooting.
• Fox host Brian Kilmeade issued forced apology for lethal injection comments about homeless people — Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade made comments on Wednesday suggesting homeless people could be solved through "involuntary injection or something. Just kill them." The remark circulated on social media and went viral Saturday with significant backlash. Fox forced Kilmeade to issue a 30-second apology on Sunday morning, stating he "wrongly said they should get lethal injections" and apologizing for the "extremely callous remark." Kilmeade received no discipline or punishment from Fox and remained scheduled for on-air appearances.

Supporting reports

• Department of Defense falsely claimed Pete Hegseth received valor medal — The Department of Defense posted a video claiming Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was the "recipient of the bronze star medal for valor." Pentagon reporter Konstantin Toropin fact-checked the claim, noting that public records show Hegseth received two Bronze Stars but neither was "for valor"—a specific distinction requiring special devices. The DOD later deleted the video.

Supporting reports

• Former Surgeon General criticized RFK Jr. for false testimony — Trump's former Surgeon General Jerome Adams stated that RFK Jr. has made "provably false statements under oath during Congressional testimony" and that his rhetoric has driven provider confusion and consumer hesitancy, putting lives at risk. Adams said RFK Jr. has failed to build trust in vaccines and lifesaving innovations, and that vaccination rates are falling while high-risk Americans report barriers to vaccination. Adams called for new HHS leadership.
• RFK Jr. claimed no government health successes — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, appeared on Fox News and claimed that he does not believe there have been any successes by government public health agencies, stating "I don't think there have been successes. We have seen a 30-40 year decline in the agency." Trump's former Surgeon General Jerome Adams responded that RFK Jr. has made "provably false statements under oath during Congressional testimony" and that his rhetoric has driven provider confusion and consumer hesitancy, putting lives at risk.

Supporting reports

• Trump berated NBC reporter Yamiche Alcindor during press exchange — When asked by NBC News reporter Yamiche Alcindor whether Trump is trying to go to war with Chicago based on his Saturday Truth Social post, the president berated her, called her "darling," and told her to "be quiet," adding "You never listen. That's why you're second-rate." The exchange reflected the president's hostile stance toward press questioning.

Supporting reports

• DOJ delays FOIA response on Epstein to November 2027 — In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed in January 2025, the Justice Department informed Marsh Law Firm (representing survivor Maria Farmer) that it would not respond until November 2027—nearly three years later. Attorney Jennifer Freeman characterized this delay as "abysmal and completely unacceptable" and part of a pattern of obstruction.

Supporting reports

• DOJ denies release of additional Epstein files and claims client list does not exist — In July 2025, Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced that the Justice Department and FBI would not release additional Epstein files and claimed that a purported Epstein client list does not exist. This announcement contradicted earlier public commitments to transparency and provoked significant controversy, particularly after reporting revealed that Trump's name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files.

Supporting reports

• DOJ opposed unsealing Epstein associate names — The Department of Justice asked a federal judge overseeing the Jeffrey Epstein case to deny NBC News's request to unseal the names of two associates who received large payments from Epstein in 2018—one receiving $100,000 and another $250,000. The DOJ cited privacy concerns expressed by the two individuals. Prosecutors noted in filings that Epstein's payments may constitute evidence of "efforts to influence witnesses" and suggested the defendant was attempting to influence co-conspirators.

Supporting reports

• Trump fired previous director of Bureau of Labor Statistics — Trump fired the previous director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after accusing her of rigging the numbers for political reasons. The firing occurred before the release of the August jobs report, which showed the U.S. added only 22,000 jobs—far below the expected 75,000—and revised downward June and July figures by 21,000 jobs.
• Trump administration fires BLS director and replaces with partisan operative — Following weak August jobs numbers, the Trump administration removed the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and replaced her with a partisan operative described as having little economic expertise. The move signals intent to alter official economic data reporting. This follows a pattern of replacing career officials with loyalists in positions responsible for collecting and publishing key economic statistics.

Supporting reports

• Justice Department sought to keep Epstein associates' names secret — Lawyers for the Justice Department asked a federal judge to keep the names of two Epstein associates who received large payments ($100,000 and $250,000) in 2018 secret. The payments occurred days before the Miami Herald began examining Epstein's 2008 sweetheart plea deal. As part of that deal, Epstein received a guarantee that the associates would not be prosecuted.
• — Lawyers for the Justice Department asked a federal judge to keep the names of two Epstein associates who received large payments in 2018 secret. One associate received $100,000 and the second $250,000. As part of his plea deal, Epstein received a guarantee that these associates would not be prosecuted.

Supporting reports

• White House warned Republicans against releasing Epstein files — The White House warned Republican members of Congress that voting to release the Epstein files "would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration." Trump subsequently claimed the agitation for release is a "Democrat HOAX" intended to distract from Republican success. The warning represents an attempt to suppress disclosure of documents potentially implicating the president.

Supporting reports

• 1,000+ HHS employees called for RFK Jr. resignation — More than 1,000 current and former Department of Health and Human Services employees signed a letter calling for RFK Jr. to resign, saying he "continues to endanger the nation's health." They say if Kennedy doesn't resign, Trump and Congress should appoint a new secretary, "one whose qualifications and experience ensure that health policy is informed by independent and unbiased peer-reviewed science."

Supporting reports

• DOJ official caught on hidden camera discussing Epstein file redactions — The acting deputy chief of a Justice Department unit was caught on a hidden camera by the far-right O'Keefe Media Group saying that the government will "redact every Republican" from a list of Epstein associates and "leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those files." He also said Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security prison in an effort to offer "her something to keep her mouth shut." In a statement, the official said his comments were based on "what I've learned in the media and not from anything I've done at or learned via work." On Twitter, a DOJ spokesperson said the official's comments "have absolutely zero bearing with reality and reflect a total lack of knowledge of the DOJ's review process."

Supporting reports

• House Oversight Committee released 33,000 Epstein documents with minimal new information — The House Oversight Committee "released" more than 33,000 documents from the Epstein files, but they appeared to contain information already in the public domain, with Democrats saying 97% of them weren't new. The release fell short of transparency expectations.

Supporting reports

• Nine former CDC directors warned RFK Jr. is endangering American health — Nine former directors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention penned an op-ed in the New York Times warning that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is "endangering every American's health," and adding that his actions are "unlike anything we had ever seen at the agency and unlike anything our country had ever experienced."