Did the Washington Times Run a ‘President Gore’ Cover the Day After the 2000 Election?
No.
On Sunday, shortly after it was announced that Joe Biden defeated President Trump in the 2020 election, Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trump’s re-election campaign, tweeted a photo of what appears to be the front page of the Washington Times from November 8, 2000, with the headline “President Gore,” along with a photo of Gore.
The tweet features a screenshot of the newspaper cover and has since been deleted.
Trump has expressed similar sentiments about what he perceives to be the media’s role in the election. Sunday afternoon, Trump tweeted the following:
The newspaper in Murtaugh’s tweet, however, was fake and the Washington Times never wrote the headline “President Gore” the day after the 2000 presidential election.
The Washington Times quickly clarified the matter, and tweeted on Sunday:
The Washington Times also added that Murtaugh was “officially notified about the error”:
In reality, the front page of the Washington Times from November 8, 2000 showed a photo of President Bush, with an announcement that Bush won the 2000 election after defeating Gore in Florida.
If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com.
This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 U.S. Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here for more.
How emblematic of the Trump era.
Trump is starting to behave like so many of our former girlfriends. "Don't leave angry...Just leave."