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Fact-check: Trump resigning tonight? Viral claim arises as Epstein email row rocks MAGA base
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's communications have been made public and President Donald Trump's name is mentioned numerous times.
A claim has gone viral on social media that President Donald Trump will resign tonight. The claim further states that Vice President JD Vance, who will become POTUS in the event of a resignation, will issue an immediate pardon to Trump. To be sure, these claims come from unverified profiles.
“Streets are saying Trump is going to resign tonight and JD Vance is immediately going to pardon Trump,” a person wrote on X. Another added, “Trump endgame: pardons Maxwell. Steps down for health reasons. Vance pardons Trump.” Yet another person said, “Well, what do you think people? Is Trump going to resign tonight and get Vance to issue him a pardon…”
Notably, there has been no indication about Donald Trump stepping down from the President's post. No media reports have also carried any hints or source based information regarding this. By all accounts, this is just a viral claim being amplified online and does not have a factual basis.
Row over Epstein files and Trump's big move
A lot of the chatter regarding Trump possibly stepping down comes from the fallout over the Epstein files. A recent tranche of communication involving the convicted sex offender has thrown the MAGA world into turmoil. In one of the emails, there is a reference to ‘Trump blowing Bubba’ while in another, Epstein remarks ‘I know how dirty Donald is’.
Also Read | Who was Epstein texting during House hearing investigating Trump; did he influence lawmaker? Files reveal shocking truth
While longtime Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene have pushed for the release of the files, Trump has maintained his standpoint that the entire thing is a ‘Democrat hoax’. Nonetheless, now he's requested – and Attorney General Pam Bondi has accepted, that the Department of Justice will be looking into Epstein's connections with Bill Clinton and others. Further, Trump also withdrew his endorsement of MTG, with Politico reporting that the House is slated to vote on the release of the Epstein files this Tuesday.
Despite claims that Trump might be stepping down over this issue, it seems unlikely because in the post where he broke ties with MTG, the POTUS took great pains to highlight the achievements of the Republican Trump government, including his claim of having stopped numerous wars across the world. Given that the President's speech indicated pride in his work, and the lack of any reportage around a possible resignation, the claims seem unfounded.
