A viral social media claim suggesting that Donald Trump has offered to admit to lying about Barack Obama’s birthplace in exchange for Obama agreeing not to run for a third term has been debunked.
The rumor, which spread widely on platforms like X, originated from a post that stated, “BREAKING: Donald Trump has reportedly offered to admit he knowingly lied for years about the Obama Birther conspiracy in exchange for Obama agreeing not to also run for a third term against him in 2028.” This post received hundreds of thousands of likes, with many users appearing to believe the claim.
However, a fact-check reveals this assertion to be false. There are no credible reports, official statements, or social media posts from Trump or his administration that support this claim. A comprehensive search of prominent news media outlets also yielded no corroborating evidence.
The origin of the false claim can be traced to the social media account “The Halfway Post,” which explicitly identifies itself as a source of satire.
The circulation of this rumor appears to stem from comments made by Donald Trump at a rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner. During his speech, Trump made a joke about seeking a fourth term, stating, “I’m pleased to announce my intention to, and this is somewhat of a scoop, my intention to run for a fourth term as president of the United States. I will be doing that.” He humorously added, “It should be easy. I’m getting very good at running for president.” Trump also referenced his past election victories, again referring to the 2020 election as “rigged.” Earlier in his remarks, he had also joked about a potential third term, noting, “Just like my presidency, the second time is always better. And the third time will be better yet,” before clarifying, “I’m only kidding.”
Reference