A screenshot shows an authentic social media post by former U.S. President Donald Trump beginning, “Your life is a total mess! You’re broke, can’t even afford cookies!”
In September 2024, a screenshot of a purported post by former U.S. President Donald Trump circulated online, beginning with the phrase, “Your life is a total mess! You’re broke, can’t even afford cookies.”
The alleged post — which looked like a message on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social — read in all uppercase letters:
YOUR LIFE IS A TOTAL MESS! YOU’RE BROKE, CAN’T EVEN AFFORD COOKIES! IMMIGRANTS ARE TAKING AND EATING YOUR PETS, FOLKS! WOMEN ARE MISERABLE-NOT SEXY, NOT SAFE! EVERYTHING YOU LOVE IS GONE, COMPLETELY DESTROYED! EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE! YOU BETTER ELECT ME SO I CAN FIX IT, AND I WILL-BIG TIME! | KNOW I SAID THIS IN 2016, BUT THIS TIME I REALLY MEAN IT! LET’S MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN, AGAIN!
Among social media users who shared the screenshot was author John Pavlovitz. Referencing the 2024 presidential election, he wrote (archived) on Facebook with the image, “Good human beings won’t choose this.” Other users on Threads and X also appeared to interpret the screenshot as documentation of an authentic post by Trump.
However, even though many of Trump’s posts on Truth Social are written in all uppercase letters with similar syntax, the alleged message was not a real post by the former president. As Seana Davis with Logically Facts reported, the screenshot was created by an X account with a bio that describes its content as containing parody and satire.
The Origins of the Fake Trump ‘Cookies’ Post
On Sept. 21, 2024, X user Agent Self FBI (@AgentSelf99B) first posted (archived) the fake Trump post with a small “satire” label in the bottom-right corner of the image. The user’s bio reads, “Deep State Director and FBI: (sometimes I post parody and satire) you’re responsible for determining what reality is, and what it isn’t. Not me! NOT A FED.”
X user Liam Nissan (@theliamnissan) — whose bio also mentions parody — reposted the screenshot. However, in that repost, the small “satire” label was missing after someone had seemingly cropped it out.
@theliamnissan later deleted the post after a different user replied (archived), “Think it’s a parody. It’s not on his page,” in reference to Trump’s actual posts on Truth Social. Then, under that reply, @AgentSelf99B responded (archived), “I made it. Someone cropped out the satire mark I made.”
One user posted (archived), “It’s so sad that this looks very believable for a Trump post.” Another person added, “The scary thing is that it’s believable as something he would send.” Others posted similar remarks about the screenshot’s believability.
We have previously fact-checked other purported social media posts by Trump — messages with ranging levels of authenticity. For example, Trump’s Truth Social account truly displayed a post reading, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” Another fact-check reported on the fake nature of a screenshot claiming Trump said he once marched with Martin Luther King Jr.
Sources
Botelho, Jessica A. “Trump Uses Tic Tacs to Demonstrate Inflation under Biden-Harris Administration.” KSNV, 14 Aug. 2024, https://news3lv.com/news/nation-world/trump-uses-tic-tacs-to-demonstrate-inflation-under-biden-harris-administration-shopping-food-snacks-grocery-stores-2024-presidential-election-politics-joe-biden-kamala-harris-jd-vance-tim-walz.
Davis, Seana. “This Fake Trump Truth Social Is Going around Saying People ‘Can’t Even Afford Cookies.’ .” X, 22 Sept. 2024, https://x.com/Seana_Davis/status/1837918805311336663.
Long, Colleen, and Chris Megerian. “Biden Says Fed Made ‘declaration of Progress’ with Interest Rate Cut.” The Associated Press, 19 Sept. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-economics-fed-harris-federal-reserve-29c3216e0b7f86f351adae8e0aef646a.
McCreesh, Shawn. “Trump’s Message: Prices (Plus Gangs, A.I. and ‘Bird Cemeteries’).” The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/16/us/politics/donald-trump-campaign-2024-economy-prices.html.