Fact check: Fabricated tweet criticizing Donald Trump wrongly attributed to Warren Buffett

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Image shows a Warren Buffett tweet comparing Donald Trump to a bum

Following the FBI's Aug. 8 search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, the former president sent out a barrage of emails asking supporters to donate to the "Official Trump Defense Fund," USA TODAY reported. Trump and his allies sent out more than 120 emails requesting donations in the first 10 days after the search.

An Aug. 19 Instagram post appears to show a tweet by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett in response.

"I don't like to get mixed up in politics but I wonder how the Former President was ever a billionaire," the purported tweet reads. "I mean, he spends more time begging for money than most bums."

The post garnered over 900 likes in its first nine hours. Similar viral iterations have been shared on Facebook and Twitter.

But the image of the tweet is digitally altered. A Buffett spokesperson said he did not post the message, and such a tweet would be inconsistent with his position of refusing to discuss politics publicly.

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USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the image for comment.

No evidence Buffett wrote tweet

Buffett's Twitter account shows he hasn't published a tweet since 2016.

"It’s not genuine," said Debbie Bosanek, a spokesperson for Buffett. "I can tell you that if it appears to be a tweet from Mr. Buffett about something, that is definitely false, since Mr. Buffett does not tweet."

When asked why he doesn't tweet in a 2018 interview on CNBC, Buffett said, "I just think there’s other things in life I want to do than tweet. I am not that desperate for somebody to hear my opinion."

Buffett has also said he will no longer publicly share his political opinions, for fear of harming his company and its holdings.

"I don't want to say anything that will get attributed basically to Berkshire, and have somebody else bear the consequences of what I talk about," he said at Berkshire Hathaway's 2022 annual shareholders meeting, according to Yahoo Finance.

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Concerning Donald Trump, Buffett said in a 2017 CNBC interview, "I’m not in the business of attacking any president, nor do I think I should be." He said that he voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, but said that "this country will move forward."

Our rating: Altered

Based on our research, we rate ALTERED an image purporting to show a Warren Buffett tweet comparing Donald Trump to a bum. USA TODAY found no evidence of such a tweet, and a Buffett spokesperson said the image is fabricated. Buffett has said he won't share his political opinions publicly.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fake tweet bashing Donald Trump wrongly linked to Buffett