Some Twitter users on Wednesday advanced a conspiracy theory that President Trump might have offered support for ethanol to a corn-state senator in order to win the favor of that senator just before he hears testimony from Donald Trump Jr. on his connections to Russia.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday he would be conducting a closed-door, transcribed interview with Trump Jr. in the coming weeks. Those questions will involved Trump Jr.’s meeting in 2016 with a Russian lawyer who offered the Trump campaign damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
On Wednesday, Grassley tweeted that he just got off the phone with Trump after a discussion about ethanol.
“Just had ph call from Pres Trump + he assured me he’s pro ethanol + I’m free 2 the ppl of Iowa he’s standing by his campaign PROMISE,” Grassley tweeted in the early morning hours on Wednesday.
Just had ph call from Pres Trump + he assured me he’s pro ethanol +I’m free 2 the ppl of Iowa he’s standing by his campaign PROMISE
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 30, 2017
That prompted some Twitter users to speculate that Trump was looking to win over Grassley before Trump Jr.’s testimony.
“Are you sure the call wasn’t more about Russia? Up and coming interview with @DonaldJTrumpJr ? More attempts at obstructing? #TrumpRussia,” one Twitter user replied. Numerous other responses to the tweet sounded the same theme.
“He called you because you head the judiciary committee and you’re questioning his son,” another tweeted. Several other tweets made the same connection.
Chuck. He called you because you head the judiciary committee and you’re questioning his son. Report the phone call to @FBI and Muller NOW.
— cameron glenn (@jetsjets) August 30, 2017
Why else might he be calling you? To take it easy on Don jr?
— Tim McCollum (@T_McCollum) August 30, 2017
Grassley spokeswoman Jill Gerber brushed aside the Twitter conspiracies, and said there was no discussion of Trump Jr.’s testimony in their phone call.
“Nothing investigative came up,” Gerber said by email. “The president called Sen. Grassley and talked briefly about ethanol. It was a two-minute conversation. Sen. Grassley told the president he was glad to hear him voice his support for ethanol and that he would tweet about it to the people of Iowa. Nothing more specific about ethanol policies came up. The other topics that came up were Hurricane Harvey and Ambassador Branstad in China.”
