President Trump’s claim that Russian officials interfered in U.S. elections is a “made-up story” has been crowned 2017’s so-called “Lie of the Year” by fact-checking website Politifact.
“A mountain of evidence points to a single fact: Russia meddled in the U.S. presidential election of 2016,” Politifact declared Tuesday, while pointing out that the president has repeatedly stated the contrary.
During an interview in May with NBC’s Lester Holt, the president said, “This Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election they should have won.”
The president has also repeatedly tweeted that stories about Russian meddling are “phony” or “fake news.” In May he wrote, “It is the same Fake News Media that said there is ‘no path to victory for Trump’ that is now pushing the phony Russia story. A total scam!”
It is the same Fake News Media that said there is “no path to victory for Trump” that is now pushing the phony Russia story. A total scam!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2017
While Politifact asserted that it has seen “no compelling evidence” to prove that Russian interference changed the election results, the group remains certain that Russian officials did attempt to influence the elections, as multiple U.S. intelligence agencies have determined.
“When the nation’s commander-in-chief refuses to acknowledge a threat to U.S. democracy, it makes it all the more difficult to address the problem,” the group wrote.
Related to the Russian interference matter, multiple investigations, including a federal probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller, are looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian officials.
Trump has denounced Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt,” denying any collusion, and his lawyers have said they expect the Russian inquiry to end soon.
Politifact said that Trump’s mixed messaging on the topic serves to complicate the Russian interference question.
“Trump could acknowledge the interference happened while still standing by the legitimacy of his election and his presidency — but he declines to do so,” Politifact wrote. “Sometimes he’ll state firmly there was ‘no collusion’ between his campaign and Russia, an implicit admission that Russia did act in some capacity. Then he reverts back to denying the interference even happened.”
Politifact readers also chose the president’s claim as the Lie of the Year by an “overwhelming margin,” the website noted.
Politifact serves as an independent fact-checker run by reporters out of the Tampa Bay Times that rates the accuracy of claims stated by U.S. political figures.
