In Tuesday Morning Tweet, Trump Adds New Wrinkle In Unfounded Claims That Protesters Are Paid Actors
President Donald Trump created a stir over the weekend when he suggested that protesters of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the individual Trump nominated to sit at a vacant seat on the Supreme Court, were paid actors.
Per previous reporting from the Inquisitr, Trump tweeted out on Friday that he believed women who were protesting Kavanaugh over various claims made against him of sexual assault over the years were “very rude elevator screamers” and “paid professionals.” He added that their only intent was to “make Senators look bad,” and that they were paid by liberal billionaire George Soros, a claim that was not followed up by any semblance of evidence when he made it.
That claim seems to have originated from the Kremlin-backed news agency RT, which posted a video commentary on the subject a day before Trump’s tweet went out.
On Tuesday morning, Trump doubled-down on those claims, again without providing evidence supporting them. He tweeted out a new line, however, suggesting that the protesters were going to be even angrier today since they did not allegedly get paid yet for their demonstrations.
“The paid D.C. protesters are now ready to REALLY protest because they haven’t gotten their checks – in other words, they weren’t paid!” Trump wrote.
Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped in every state, poll shows https://t.co/BSVXWfmwnK pic.twitter.com/n9ZHmXO3f6
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) October 9, 2018
Trump added that the protesters who took to Congress in attempts to stop the nomination of Kavanaugh from going forward were easy to spot.
“Screamers in Congress, and outside, were far too obvious – less professional than anticipated by those paying (or not paying) the bills!” he added.
Soros, a Hungarian-born American billionaire, has been a subject of ire by conservatives, conspiracy theorists or not, since at least 2004, according to reporting from the Washington Post. Countless unfounded claims against him have been made since that time, including the zingers Trump has thrown out over the past week.
In addition to RT sending out the unfounded claim of protesters being paid, Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, was asked on Fox Business whether he believed the protesters were paid actors.
“I tend to believe it,” Grassley said.
Less than an hour and a half later, Trump sent out his initial tweet on Friday purporting the belief.
It’s also worth pointing out that while Trump makes these types of unfounded claims, he himself may have benefited from paid actors being part of his campaign crowds. During an announcement he made in 2015, in which he officially threw his hat in the ring for president, Trump supposedly paid some of the attendees $50 for a few hours of work to pretend to support his run, again according to reporting from the Washington Post.
