In June 2020, social media users shared posts that U.S. President Donald Trump had said he won't leave the office at the end of his elected term. His statement had prompted a lot of people to ask if he really said it or if it was just a rumor.
Will Trump leave the office?
The posts were based on a speech that President Trump gave back in December 2019 at the Israeli-American Council National Summit, during remarks about his administration's decision to move the U.S embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The move had earned him backlash from both the United States Senate and the public. In Trump's speech, he addressed his campaign donor and friend, billionaire businessman, Sheldon Adelson, and he said that the new U.S embassy building would be made with "Jerusalem stone".
Trump had derided his critics, who at that time, expressed their worry that he would not leave the office willingly if his term ends. Trump said at the summit that they are going to spend $2 billion on the U.S Embassy so that it can be built in Jerusalem.
But he pointed out that he wants to drive the media crazy and he knows that they are worried that he won't leave. He said that he knows his supporters say "four more years" which is a reference to the number of years that he will still be president if he wins the reelection this November 2020.
Trump then joked that it should not be 4 years but 12 more years. Trump also added that if he does not build the U.S Embassy now, it is never going to get built because America might vote another Obama or "Crooked Hillary" after his term.
Joe Biden Democratic Presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, also expressed his fear that Trump might not willingly give up his seat at the White House if he does not get re-elected his November.
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During his interview with Trevor Noah on "The Daily Show", Biden said that he is convinced that the military would need to escort Trump just so he would give up the office if he does not win the election. He also said that he already considered what would happen if Trump refuses to accept his defeat.
Biden also pointed out that Trump has a history of spreading false conspiracy theories, from saying that Obama is not born in the United States to lies about mail-in voting that he said could lead to widespread voter fraud. Biden said Trump will do anything to steal this election.
The truth
Even though President Trump jokes about it, there is no instance of him seriously stating that he wouldn't leave office if his term comes to an end. In fact, he told Fox News that he will leave the office to do other things if he does not get re-elected.
But though he has joked about it more than once, we've found no instances of Trump seriously stating he wouldn't leave the office.
In June 2020, he told Fox News he will leave the office to "go on, do other things" if not re-elected. This means that the post about Trump not wanting to leave the White House at the end of his term is false.
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