--- title: "Donald Trump with a message for Donald Trump: \"Our president will start a war wi…" source: "https://x.com/MarcoFoster_/status/2024315375656325244" platform: "X / Twitter" factual_accuracy: 51 overall_accuracy: null tags: ["donald trump", "iran", "war on iran", "hypocrisy", "irony"] --- # Source fact-check: Donald Trump with a message for Donald Trump: "Our president will start a war wi… Original post: https://x.com/MarcoFoster_/status/2024315375656325244 Factual accuracy: 51% · Overall accuracy: Unknown ## Source post **Target post by @MarcoFoster_** > Donald Trump with a message for Donald Trump: "Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He's weak and he's ineffective" https://t.co/LLubBZw52z ## Post analysis Post analysis will start after all claims are evaluated. ## Claims found (4) ### 1. Donald Trump had a message for Donald Trump — 100% Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 02/05/2026 · Detail: /claim/WXhQTD4qikqdHVP9YMFA **Analysis of the Claim: "Donald Trump had a message for Donald Trump"** - This claim is **true**. President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social that was literally addressed to himself by name[^1]. - In the post, Trump wrote: "I want to thank Donald Trump for working like a dog for no money to save a Country that doesn't appreciate his sacrifice\! Thank you Mr President\!"[^1] - Trump captioned the image with: "Thank you. Big progress for America being made\!" — effectively doubling down on thanking himself[^1]. - The post was widely reported as bizarre because Trump was referring to himself in the third person and thanking himself for his own work[^1]. - The claim does not require metaphorical interpretation — it is factually documented that Trump publicly posted a message for/addressed to "Donald Trump." **Overall validity: 100%** [^1]: [Trump Thanks Himself In Bizarre Social Media Post](https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexalisitza/donald-trump-truth-social-post-thanking-himself) ### 2. Donald Trump said that the president will start a war with Iran because the president has absolutely no ability to negotiate — 15% Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 02/05/2026 · Detail: /claim/zaCsfW42MsiCQzQ4WMMD **Fact-Check Analysis:** - Donald Trump did say these exact words in 2011, when he was a private citizen, not president[^1] - However, Trump was referring to **President Barack Obama**, not himself or any other president[^1] - The full quote context was: Trump accused Obama of being "weak and ineffective" and claimed "the only way he figures that he's going to get reelected... is to start a war with Iran"[^1] - The quote resurfaced in January 2020 after Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, as critics pointed out the irony of Trump having made this statement about Obama[^1] - Obama did not start a war with Iran and won reelection in 2012; the Iran nuclear agreement was signed in 2015[^1] **Overall validity**: 15% [^1]: [Video of Trump Warning 'Our President Will Start a War With Iran Because He Has Absolutely No Ability to Negotiate' Resurfaces | Common Dreams](https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/03/video-trump-warning-our-president-will-start-war-iran-because-he-has-absolutely-no) ### 3. Donald Trump said that the president is weak — 50% Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 02/05/2026 · Detail: /claim/ePhD10yIlkrp7fENAerW - The commonly circulated quote "A shutdown means the president is weak" attributed to Donald Trump from 2013 is a mixture of true and false information[^1]. - Fact-checkers found no evidence that Trump said the complete quote in its entirety, including the specific sentence "A shutdown means the president is weak"[^1][^2]. - However, Trump did say verbatim during a 2013 interview: "I mean, problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top"[^1]. - The remainder of the alleged quote fairly reflected Trump's publicly stated thoughts in 2013, where he placed responsibility for government shutdowns on the president and criticized leadership[^2][^1]. - The earliest-known posts containing the first and third sentences of the purported quote (including the "president is weak" line) date to January 2018, not 2013, suggesting those words may have been fabricated or paraphrased by others later[^1]. - PolitiFact rated the overall claim "Half True" because while the exact wording was not found, Trump made similar statements about presidential leadership during shutdowns[^2]. **Overall validity**: 50% [^1]: [Trump once said, 'A government shutdown falls on president's lack of leadership' and spoke about 'weak' presidents? | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-government-shutdown-presidents/) [^2]: [PolitiFact | Before he was president, did Donald Trump say a government shutdown shows a president is weak?](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/dec/14/blog-posting/did-trump-criticize-obama-during-2013-government-s/) ### 4. Donald Trump said that the president is ineffective — 40% Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 02/05/2026 · Detail: /claim/7rBdCw88dGcmx76N0Hic **Analysis of the claim:** - Donald Trump did make a statement closely matching this claim, but it was specifically about President Obama in 2011-2012, not a general statement about the presidency[^1]. Trump said: "Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He is weak and he is ineffective"[^1]. - Trump has used the phrase "weak and ineffective" to describe multiple others, including Senator John Cornyn ("Weak, ineffective, and very bad for the Republican Party")[^2], judges and law enforcement officials ("WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Judges and Law Enforcement Officials")[^3], and Republican leaders who rejected his efforts to overturn the 2020 election ("weak and ineffective" and the "Surrender Caucus")[^4]. - The claim as phrased lacks important context—it suggests Trump made a general statement that "the president is ineffective," but the actual quote was a specific criticism of President Obama's negotiating abilities regarding Iran in 2011-2012[^1]. - There is no evidence Trump said this about himself or about the office of the presidency in general terms. **Conclusion:** The claim contains a kernel of truth—Trump did call a sitting president "ineffective"—but it strips away critical context (that it was about Obama specifically, during 2011-2012). Without that context, the claim is misleading. **Overall validity: 40%** [^1]: [Donald Trump - Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donald_Trump) [^2]: [WHAT GOP SAID IN TEXAS: Cornyn Claimed “President Trump’s Time Has Passed” While Trump Called Cornyn “Weak, Ineffective, and Very Bad for the Republican Party” - DSCC](https://www.dscc.org/article/what-gop-said-in-texas-cornyn-claimed-president-trumps-time-has-passed-while-trump-called-cornyn-weak-ineffective-and-very-bad-for-the-republican-party) [^3]: [Trump takes aim at Biden, "Radical Left Lunatics" and the courts in Easter Sunday message - CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-easter-sunday-message-biden-courts-left/) [^4]: [Trump Tells Pence To 'Show Extreme Courage' And Overturn Results : Capitol Insurrection Updates : NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/congress-electoral-college-tally-live-updates/2021/01/06/953907019/trump-tells-pence-to-show-extreme-courage-and-overturn-results)