In what can only be described as a head-scratching moment—even by Donald Trump standards—the president lit up Truth Social on Sunday with a bizarre and historically incoherent claim: that Watergate, the scandal that took down President Richard Nixon, was an “illegal hoax.”
Yes, Watergate. The break-in. The cover-up. The resigning president. That Watergate.
Trying to drag Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in yet another public grudge match, Trump veered wildly off course and straight into the Twilight Zone of political revisionism:
“The Ukraine Impeachment (of me!) Scam was a far bigger Illegal Hoax than Watergate. I sincerely hope the necessary authorities, including CONGRESS, are looking into this! Adam “Schiffty” Schiff was sooo dishonest and corrupt. So many laws, and protocols, were violated, and just plain broken!!! President DJT”
It didn’t take long for the backlash to explode.
“The President is calling Watergate, one of the most extensively reviewed, documented and scrutinized crimes in history, a hoax,” investigative journalist Adam Cochran wrote. “It shocks me to my core each day, that some people don’t realize he’s a moron!”
And he wasn’t alone.
“No one, and I mean no one, thinks Watergate was a hoax,” replied Ron Waxman. “Nixon resigned the Presidency and was later pardoned because he committed crimes. Many others went to prison for their actions.”
Another user said bluntly: “Epstein files still missing, sir.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has tried to rewrite well-known events to better fit his ever-growing list of personal grievances. But dragging Watergate into the mud—an event that occurred decades before Trump was even a political figure—feels like a desperate leap even by his standards.
And let’s be clear: Watergate wasn’t a Twitter rumor. It led to indictments of 69 people, 48 of whom were found guilty. It ended a presidency. It changed how Americans viewed the government. The idea that it was somehow a “hoax”—let alone an illegal one—isn’t just revisionist, it’s incoherent.
“Still whining about his impeachments that are never going to go away. Sounds like he was on Nixon’s side,” one commenter wrote. “Nixon’s own party told Nixon to resign, but Trump apparently thinks he was innocent.”
It’s almost hard to know what’s more stunning—the sheer audacity of the claim, or the fact that Trump genuinely seems to believe it. Either way, it’s another reminder that for Trump, facts are optional, loyalty is everything, and history is just another campaign prop.
