Happy Easter everyone!! Someone who apparently isn’t having a happy Easter, is Donald Trump. Trump took to Twitter Sunday afternoon to lash out at Fox News’s Chris Wallace, who earlier criticized Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. Trump tweeted, “Just watched Mike Wallace wannabe, Chris Wallace, on Fox News. I am now convinced that he is. Chris Wallace on Twitter. Occam’s Razor Grills her? He let the ridiculous “90% of Americans are for universal background checks” lie stand. Republicans are not for background checking your son or nephew! #FoxNewsSunday Chris Wallace sucks!
The claim: Fox News anchor Chris Wallace tweeted disparagingly at President Donald Trump
Chris Wallace Twitter
© Joe Raedle, AFP/Getty Images Debate moderator Chris Wallace from Fox News takes part in the final presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oct. 19, 2016.A fake screenshot of a Chris Wallace tweet is again gaining traction online. “Wow! Chris Wallace TWEETS Trump into a teeny little wienie,” a Facebook post shared over a thousand times reads.
The image first began circulating after Trump’s original tweet in November 2019. The president’s tweet attacked Wallace after he interviewed Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., on his show, 'Fox News Sunday.'
Fact check: Melania Trump did not remove cherry trees, historic roses from Rose Garden
Fake tweet, real interview
Wallace asked the House minority whip about the then-ongoing impeachment inquiry into the president, pressing Scalise on the activities of Trump's associates, who were being investigated.
In the Facebook post, Trump's tweet is followed by a reply from Wallace. But the “Fox News Sunday” host did not criticize the president in a tweet. Wallace is not on Twitter.
Video: President Trump responds to criticism heard in recordings of his sister (ABC News)
The images that have circulated contain a few hints of doctoring.
The Twitter handle in the photo, for instance, belongs to the account of Wallace's show, @FoxNewsSunday, not Wallace. The text of the image is also not flush left, as tweets normally appear. The wording is also well over the 280 character limit allowed for tweets.
The image quality of the screenshot appears to be degraded, a process that often happens when an image's data is compressed from repeated screenshots and sharing.
USA TODAY was unable to find any Twitter accounts that appear to belong to Wallace.
Fact check: Joe Biden delivered his Democratic nomination acceptance speech live
Chris Wallace Twitter Fox News
Our ruling: False
A fake Chris Wallace tweet began circulating after the Fox News anchor gave an interview where he was critical of a Republican congressperson defending the president during the impeachment inquiry. The image has several hints that it is false, plus Wallace does not have a Twitter account. We rate this claim FALSE because it is not supported by our research.
Our fact-check sources:
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
Chris Wallace Twitter Feed
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fake Chris Wallace tweet recirculates on social media