Did President Donald Trump cancel funding for Obama's free house and library and is Michelle Obama furious about it? No, that's not true: an old hoax from a satire website has been turned into a clickbait story that is still circulating the internet three years after the original hoax was launched. There was never any taxpayer funding earmarked for a "free house and library" to begin with so Trump couldn't have cancelled it even if he wanted to.
The story originated from an article (now deleted but archived here) from satire website America's Last Line of Defense where it was published late 2016 under the title "BREAKING: Trump Cancels Funding For Obama's Free House And Library-Michelle FURIOUS". It opened:
Donald Trump continues to buck the establishment's system by doing things the way he wants them done. After learning that President Obama ordered the Department of Education's library division to divert more than $8 million in funds to a fund to build the next Presidential Library, Trump wrote the order rescinding it and putting the money into improving the education of privately held charter schools instead.
The order, which will hold no power until after the inauguration, is just one of a growing list Trump keeps in a folder ready to sign as soon as he's sworn in. Michelle Obama, who was going to get a free home on the top floor of the new building that was rumored to be a replica of the White House Residence, was reportedly so upset at the news that she canceled her plans to attend the annual Kumonawanna pig roast in Honolulu.
The library division has been using taxpayer funds to build Presidential libraries since John Adams had his erected in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1806. Obama will be the first president since Washington, who formed the division but never conceived of a library for himself. As a matter of custom, Democrats tend to include a residence for themselves to live out their days while Republicans are content to use the leftovers from their campaign funds to pay for their own private housing or upgrade their existing homes.
The website that published the story had a disclaimer at the time that read:
DISCLAIMER: The Resistance may include information from sources that may or may not be reliable and facts that don't necessarily exist. All articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney. Pictures that represent actual people should be considered altered and not in any way real.
The story was already fact checked in the summer of 2017 by FactCheck.org as it started popping up on copycat sites:
Obama Center Not Federally Funded - FactCheck.org
Q: Did President Trump cancel funding to build Barack Obama's presidential library? A: No. That story originated on a satirical news site. All presidential libraries have been constructed using private or non-federal funds. FULL ANSWER On Aug. 4, lahrennews.com posted a story claiming that President Donald Trump blocked Barack Obama from using taxpayer money to build his presidential library.
We are now 2019 and there are still variations of this claim making the rounds, here are a few published just this month:
Do You Support Trump In Canceling Funding For Obama's Free House And ...
Donald Trump continues to buck the establishment's system by doing things the way he wants them done. After learning that President Obama ordered the Department of Education's library division to divert more than $8 million in funds to a fund to build the next Presidential Library, Trump wrote the order rescinding it and putting the money into improving the education of privately held charter schools instead.
VIDEO Do You Support Trump In Canceling Funding For Obama's Free Hous...
News Nick 0 0 Donald Trump continues kicking the establishment's structure by doing things the way he needs them done. In the wake of finding that President Obama asked for the Part of Preparing's library division to divert more than $8 million in advantages for a hold to amass the accompanying Presidential Library, Trump formed the demand canceling it and putting the money into improving the guidance of covertly held contract schools.
The "Video" version sports a 2014 clip in which Curt Smith from the University of Rochester is comparing possible locations for the Obama presidential library but it doesn't mention funding being withdrawn at all:
The actual Barack Obama Presidential Library already exists and it is the only one to be mainly available in digital form online (although there is a physical Presidential Center in Chicago too):
About Us
The Barack Obama Presidential Library is the 14th Presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), a federal agency. Unlike other Presidential Libraries administered by NARA, the Barack Obama Presidential Library will be the first fully digital presidential library.
