Impeached President Donald Trump was musing to Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, about how his life was better before he announced his presidential candidacy.
Just like he did in March, Trump then went on a riff about an an incident he claims (falsely) took place at a New York City charity gala after he announced he was becoming a politician in 2015.
Trump keeps saying he'd never been booed during his great easy life before he became a candidate in 2015. Not even close to true. https://t.co/fXGiZc4gBn pic.twitter.com/zlsghhMAId
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 24, 2020
So Trump says he was booed for the first time in his life at a charity gala after he launched his candidacy in 2015...
...though he'd been booed multiple times in previous years and hasn't attended that gala since 2011: https://t.co/fXGiZc4gBn
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 24, 2020
"One thing that happened: I was going into a thing called the Robin Hood Foundation. I'll never forget it," Trump said in the interview, which Portnoy released on Friday.
"It was just about the night I announced or whatever. My wife looked at me, she said, 'You know, I hear people booing.' And she was with me for a long time, we've been together a long time, she said, 'Some people are booing.' I said, 'Yeah, but some people are also clapping. Wildly.' I said, 'No.' She said, 'You know what, I've been with you a long time. I've never heard anyone boo you.' This was right after I started being the politician. And it meant something -- because I said, you know, it's the first time in my life I was ever booed."
Facts First: This story could not possibly be true: Trump has not attended the Robin Hood Foundation gala since 2011. Also, the 2015 gala was held in May, a month before Trump announced his candidacy -- so, even if he had gone, he could not possibly have been booed there for his immigration positions as a new candidate, as he claimed in March. Also, Trump had been booed in public on multiple occasions before 2015.
MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle, who is part of the anti-poverty foundation's Leadership Council of prominent donors, has publicly said that Trump did not attend the gala in 2015, a star-studded affair that raised $101 million. Ruhle tweeted in March that Trump's story about being booed was "entirely fabricated."
Another person affiliated with the foundation, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Trump had not attended the gala since 2011.
More at CNN:
Fact check: Trump again tells story about being booed at 2015 event he didn't attend
