Trump Shares Claim From Satire Site on Obama, ACA

President Trump on Sunday promoted a widely debunked claim that former President Obama has raked in $40 million in "royalties linked to Obamacare." The claim, which has circulated online since at least 2017, originated from "America's Last Line of Defense," a satirical website known for producing fake news that's intended to provoke reaction from conservatives, per the Guardian.

Trump shared the claim—along with an image of Obama and the text, "BREAKING: DOGE halted a yearly payment of $2.5 million to Barack Obama for 'royalties linked to Obamacare.' Obama has collected this payment since 2010, for a total of $40 million in taxpayer dollars"—on his Truth Social account to his 11.1 million followers. He added one short comment: "WOW!"

The president spent much of the weekend on social media criticizing the Affordable Care Act, all while Senate Democrats worked to try to extend tax credits for ACA users. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment on whether the president knew the claim was fictional. Christopher Blair, the Maine-based creator of the satirical site behind the claim, has described himself as the "godfather of fake news" and previously mocked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sharing one of his fake articles.