Did the Biden campaign or administration organize billboard trucks outside the Republican National Convention, calling former President Donald Trump a "DICTATOR ON DAY ONE"? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee said the trucks are not from the Biden campaign nor the Committee. There's also no evidence linking the trucks to President Joe Biden's administration or his presidential campaign.
The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) on X, formerly Twitter, on July 17, 2024. The video's caption said:
🚨 The Democrat Propaganda Never Stops. Biden Administration Paying For Advertising Trucks Displaying The Message 'Dictator on day one'
What happened to coming together and toning down division, hate & extremism?? Just another Joe Biden lie
'So check this out. The Left is so for green deals. Right, Carbon emissions. What do you think these are doing running, idling engines, and projecting things about Trump? You think this is a green deal right here? Such hypocrites.'
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Wed Jul 17 17:38:29 2024 UTC)
The post provided no proof of its claim that the "Biden Administration" is paying for the "dictator" advertising on the trucks.
Democratic National Committee
In a July 18, 2024, email to Lead Stories, Abhi Rahman, deputy communications director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said the DNC has billboard trucks in Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is being held, but "Ours do not say dictator on day one," adding "it is neither the DNC's or the Biden campaigns!"
Lead Stories could not determine by the time of writing who was responsible for the billboards.
Dictator on day one
The inspiration for the mobile billboard comes from Trump himself. The Associated Press recounted the December 5, 2023, exchange at an Iowa town hall between the former president and Fox News host Sean Hannity in a story published on December 7, 2023.
As Donald Trump faces growing scrutiny over his increasingly authoritarian and violent rhetoric, Fox News host Sean Hannity gave his longtime friend a chance to assure the American people that he wouldn't abuse power or seek retribution if he wins a second term.
But instead of offering a perfunctory answer brushing off the warnings, Trump stoked the fire.
'Except for day one,' the GOP front-runner said Tuesday night before a live audience in Davenport, Iowa. 'I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.'
And in case anyone missed it, he reenacted the exchange.
'We love this guy,' Trump said of Hannity. 'He says, "You're not going to be a dictator, are you?" I said: "No, no, no, other than day one. We're closing the border, and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator."'
A video of the Trump-Hannity exchange appears below:
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Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims involving Joe Biden can be found here.
Other Lead Stories fact checks on claims involving Donald Trump can be found here.
