Suggests Trump urged sick people to get out and vote during COVID-19 pandemic
Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
2016 video of Trump urging sick people to vote resurfaces online
If Your Time is short
-
Trump urged supporters during a rally to vote in the presidential election even if their doctor recently gave them the ‘worst possible prognosis’ — but he said this during his 2016 campaign, not in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A video clip of President Donald Trump urging sick people to get out and vote has resurfaced on social media.
But the video was recorded weeks before the 2016 presidential election, not amid Trump’s 2020 re-election bid and the COVID-19 pandemic, as some posts suggest.
The video was shared on Twitter on April 4, 2020, with the hashtags #covid19 #coronavirus and #coronavirusupdate and a title that reads, "Trump to the terminally ill: Vote for me before you die."
Trump says:
"You’ve got to get out there November 8. I say kiddingly but I mean it. I don’t care how sick you are. I don’t care if you just came back from the doctor and he gave you the worst possible prognosis, meaning it's over. You won’t be around in two weeks. Doesn’t matter. Hang out until November 8. Get out and vote. And then all we’re going to say is we love you and we will remember you always."
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Featured Fact-check
Trump said the words, but the statement was not targeted at Americans who have been sickened by the novel coronavirus, as the post suggests. The clip was filmed about a month before the Nov. 8, 2016, presidential election at a campaign rally in Henderson, Nevada.
The 2020 general election date is Nov. 3.
We reached out to Trump’s 2020 campaign for comment but did not hear back.
The clip is authentic but posts sharing it now leave the impression that Trump said this during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and is referring to people who have been diagnosed with the virus. That’s False.
Our Sources
Archive.is, Twitter post, April 4, 2020
CSPAN, Donald Trump Campaign Rally in Henderson, Nevada, Oct. 5, 2016
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Samantha Putterman
2016 video of Trump urging sick people to vote resurfaces online
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.