Trump spokesman Tim Murtaugh is eviscerated for sharing photo of campaign HQ plastered with DOCTORED 20-year-old Washington Times front page showing Al Gore being declared winner as proof 'the media doesn't select the president'
Donald Trump's spokesman Tim Murtaugh was forced to delete a picture of campaign HQ covered in what he said was an old Washington Times front page after the newspaper confirmed it was doctored.
Murtaugh had tweeted: 'Greeting staff at @TeamTrump HQ this morning, a reminder that the media doesn't select the President.'
He shared a picture of the front page which appeared to show the paper confirmed Al Gore, and not eventual winner George W Bush, as president during their close race in 2000.
Dozens of copies of the page covered an entire wall of the HQ, his tweet shows.
But the newspaper quickly pointed out: 'Those photos have been doctored. The Washington Times never ran a "President Gore" headline.'
They added: 'We also wish to add that Mr. Murtaugh has been officially notified via email about this error.'
Murtaugh said the pages were 'a reminder the media doesn't pick the President'
He shared a picture of the front page which appeared to show The Washington Times confirmed Al Gore, and not eventual winner George W Bush, as president
Dozens of copies of the page covered an entire wall of the HQ, Murtaugh tweet shows
Tim Murtaugh, left, with Donald Trump, who has yet to acknowledge Biden’s victory and has pledged to mount legal challenges in several closely contested states that decided the race
Murtaugh's tweet was deleted but not before other users had realized his error.
Some noted that that HQ also seemed to be covered in Donald Trump's tweets.
The real front page from November 8, 2000 read 'Down to the wire'.
Trump has yet to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory and has pledged to mount legal challenges in several closely contested states that decided the race.
But the newspaper quickly pointed out: 'Those photos have been doctored'
The real front page from November 8, 2000 read 'Down to the wire'
His campaign has leveled accusations of large-scale voter fraud in Pennsylvania and other states that broke for Biden, so far without proof.
Trump, addressing supporters at the White House early Wednesday, talked about taking the undecided race to the Supreme Court.
Though it was unclear what he meant, his comments evoked a reprise of the court’s intervention in the 2000 presidential election that ended with a decision effectively handing the presidency to George W. Bush.
Online people were quick to spot that error in Murtaugh's tweet
Some noted that that HQ also seemed to be covered in Donald Trump's tweets
But there are important differences from 2000. That year, Republican-controlled Florida was the critical state and Bush clung to a small lead.
Democrat Al Gore asked for a recount and the Supreme Court stopped it.
The disastrous 2000 election night has also not been forgotten by the television networks.
Their leaders were hauled before Congress to explain how they prematurely declared Republican George W. Bush the winner over Democrat Al Gore, an election that was eventually decided by the Supreme Court.