Politics

FACT CHECK: No, Donald Trump Did Not Nominate Joe Biden To The Supreme Court

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A viral Instagram post claims President Donald Trump nominated Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to the Supreme Court.

 

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4D CHESS! ????????♟The master strikes again! ???????? No but really, I’ve never seen liberals work so hard to prevent a woman from getting a job. SAD!

A post shared by ???????? Rebel With a Cause ???????? (@thegaywhostrayed) on Sep 21, 2020 at 3:20pm PDT

Verdict: False

Trump has not announced a nomination at the time of publication. The claim originates from a satire website.

Fact Check:

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Sept. 18 from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, leaving a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Trump vowed to nominate a woman to the seat before the November election and, according to Politico, is expected to announce his pick on Saturday.

A viral Instagram post falsely claims Trump has already selected Ginsburg’s potential replacement: Biden. The image being shared shows what appears to be a screen grab of a Sept. 20 news article with the headline, “Genius Trump Nominates Joe Biden To Supreme Court Forcing Dems To Accuse Him Of Sexual Assault.”

Biden’s name does not appear on the shortlist of candidates Trump released on Sept. 9. At the time of publication, Trump has not announced his nomination of anybody to fill Ginsburg’s seat, much less his political rival for the 2020 election. When Trump announces his selection, it will assuredly be covered by the media.

The image appears to be a screen grab of a headline from a satirical article published by The Babylon Bee, a self-described “satire site” that writes about “Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life.” The article, seemingly referencing the sexual assault allegations brought against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearings, attempts to suggest that “Dems” would be “forced” to raise similar accusations against the former vice president.

Some Instagram users in the comments were able to discern the satirical origins of the screen grab being shared, while others appeared to perceive it as genuine news.