With President Donald Trump, there is always a tweet from his past that seems to contradict things he’s saying or criticizes something he’s now doing as president of the United States.
Nearly every time Trump makes a controversial statement, decision or remark, it takes only minutes for some eagle-eyed Twitter user to find something he posted on the social media site in the past that makes him look like a hypocrite–there’s even an entire Reddit community devoted to highlighting them.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest moments where Trump’s past tweets have come back to haunt him:
1) “3 Chief of Staffs in less than 3 years of being President: Part of the reason why @BarackObama can’t manage to pass his agenda.” (Jan. 10, 2012)
Trump hasn’t yet reached three chiefs of staff, but he’s well on his way to beating President Barack Obama‘s tally. Trump fired his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, earlier this year and replaced him with former Gen. John Kelly. If Kelly stays on until 2019, the president won’t have egg on his face because of this tweet–but judging from the extreme turnover that has marked his young presidency, Kelly lasting that long probably isn’t a safe bet.
2) “The [E]lectoral [C]ollege is a disaster for a democracy.” (Nov. 7, 2012)
Trump may not have liked the Electoral College when Obama won against 2012 Republican nominee and former Massachusettes Gov. Mitt Romney during the 2012 election, but he sure loved the system of electing a president when he won last year. While Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, edged him out in the popular vote, Trump clearly loves the Electoral College now–it’s the reason he’s president. Trump reportedly loves the Electoral College so much that he has decided to hang a framed picture of the electoral map in the White House.
3) “The global warming we should be worried about is the global warming caused by NUCLEAR WEAPONS in the hands of crazy or incompetent leaders!” (May 7, 2014)
Trump has been enveloped in a much-criticized war of words with North Korea, which claims it has nuclear weapons capable of hitting the United States. As for the “crazy and incompetent” part, his political opponents may think that describes the current commander-in-chief more than Obama, who he clearly was talking about in this tweet.
4) “An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that @BarackObama’s birth certificate is a fraud.” (Aug. 6, 2012)
The so-called “birther movement” was a major Trump talking point for years. He claimed he sent investigators to search for Obama’s birth certificate and didn’t stop perpetuating the racist conspiracy theory even after Obama released proof he was born in the United States. Trump eventually admitted that he was wrong about Obama’s birth certificate.
5) “President Obama thinks the nation is not as divided as people think. He is living in a world of the make believe [sic]!” (July 10, 2016)
Trump says he doesn’t want to divide the country; yet, that is exactly what’s happening. Despite blaming Obama for America’s divisions, it’s worth noting that shortly after Trump’s presidency, Pew Research Center found that 77 percent of Americans thought the nation was divided.
6) “President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense” (Oct. 8, 2013)
Despite saying Obama should not weigh in on the name of the Washington state football team and instead of focusing on “bigger problems,” Trump had no qualms of (repeatedly) giving his opinions about the NFL last month when he criticized players for protesting during the national anthem.
7) “‘Don’t take vacations. What’s the point? If you’re not enjoying your work, you’re in the wrong job.’ — Think Like A Billionaire” (Nov. 19, 2012)
Since being sworn in as president, Trump has spent 25 days a Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. The Washington Post estimates that Trump had spent 53 days vacationing by the end of August. Trump also said he thought his “previous life” as a businessman and TV personality was “easier.”
8) “Michelle Obama’s weekend ski trip to Aspen makes it 16 times that Obamas have gone on vacation in 3 years. (cont)” (Feb. 21, 2012)
Trump has spent approximately 64 days golfing since taking the oath of office. While it may not be considered a “vacation,” it is time away from the Oval Office, which is exactly what Trump was criticizing the Obamas for.
9) “Obama has admitted that he spends his mornings watching @ESPN. Then he plays golf, fundraises & grants amnesty to illegals.” (Dec. 16, 2014)
The president spends many of his mornings watching cable news, according to multiple reports, so it’s odd he would criticize Obama for doing the same thing. Also, as we noted above, he spends a lot of time golfing. Oh, and depending on which websites you read, Trump’s action on DACA may qualify as giving “amnesty.”
10) “Obama is now standing in a puddle acting like a President–give me a break.” (Oct. 31, 2012)
When Trump visited Texas to survey the flooding and damage brought by Hurricane Harvey, the internet was quick to point out that he was critical of Obama for doing the exact same thing he was about to do.
11) “Crooked Hillary Clinton and her team ‘were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.’ Not fit!” (July 6, 2016)
While running for president, Trump constantly brought up former Secretary of State Clinton’s use of a private email setup for State Department work as a way to show that she could not be trusted in office. However, shortly after firing former FBI Director James Comey, Trump reportedly shared classified information with Russian officials about the so-called Islamic State. On top of that, Trump’s advisers and children, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, forwarded their private schedules to a family email account.
12) “An interesting cartoon that is circulating.” (Oct. 22, 2014)
In 2014, Trump posted a cartoon of the Founding Fathers signing in the U.S. Constitution with text under it fake-quoting them as saying they should include text that disallows people to elect a “moron.” The tweet resurfaced after NBC News reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “fucking moron” earlier this year.
13) “Wow, you are all correct about @FoxNews – totally biased and disgusting reporting.” (March 10, 2016)
We all know Trump loves to watch Fox & Friends and seems to tweet about what the show is discussing in the morning. So, it’s a little odd that last year Trump bashed Fox News on Twitter.
14) “President Obama’s approval rating, at 38%, is at an all-time low. Gee, I wonder why?” (Dec. 11, 2013)
Trump called out Obama’s approval ratings in 2013, after several years in office. As of Oct. 6., Trump’s approval rating was hovering around the same number but had dipped below 35 percent in September, according to Gallup, and down to 32 percent in a recent Associated Press poll.
15) “DESPERATE- @BarackObama is already asking supporters to ‘find dirt’ on @MittRomney’s VP picks http://nbcnews.to/NdmTee Dirty tactics.” (Aug. 9, 2012)
Trump called out Obama (see a pattern here?) for sending out a campaign email asking to dredge up dirt on possible vice presidential picks for Romney. Trump did essentially the same thing when he called for Russia to dig up Clinton emails during the 2016 election.
16) “Be prepared, there is a small chance that our horrendous leadership could unknowingly lead us into World War III.” (Aug. 31, 2013)
Trump’s tweet about “horrendous leadership” leading us to World War II made the rounds in August as he continued to trade testy words with North Korea, boosting fears of a military conflict.
17) “Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.” (June 14, 2016)
Trump promised to “fight for” the LGBTQ community shortly after the June 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. When he became president, Trump announced that transgender military personnel would no longer be allowed to serve due to “tremendous medical costs,” an assertion that is false.
18) “Why does @BarackObama always have to rely on teleprompters?” (March 19, 2012)
This one is perhaps the most straightforward: Trump uses a teleprompter all the time–especially when speaking about controversial subjects or tragedies.
