Trump Promotes Fake Claim That Obama Made $40 Million from Obamacare

President Donald Trump on Sunday amplified a completely debunked conspiracy theory claiming that former President Barack Obama has pocketed $40 million in taxpayer money since 2010 for “royalties linked to Obamacare.”

“Wow!” Trump wrote, sharing an image of a post on X (formerly Twitter) that detailed the baseless claim.

The post came from an account called The Patriot Oasis, a pro-Trump user with more than 333,000 followers who regularly pushes conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points. The claim itself, however, traces back to a known satire website, America’s Last Line of Defense, which openly admits to publishing fictional stories for entertainment and “trolling purposes.”

Despite that, the fake story has made its way through conservative social media circles for months, racking up millions of impressions as influencers—and now the president—continue to promote it as fact.

The post Trump shared alleges that Obama has been receiving government payouts labeled as “Obamacare royalties,” and that Trump’s own “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, recently put a stop to them.

Legal experts say the entire premise is impossible. Even if someone wanted to “trademark” Obamacare, it couldn’t happen—because government programs belong to the government, not individuals.

“[Trump] created the Space Force. And the name Space Force is a trademark pending that’s owned by the US military,” said Erik Pelton, an intellectual property lawyer and professor at Georgetown University, speaking with AFP. “Because it’s a governmental program, that’s who would own the name.”

AFP also searched the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database and found no registered trademarks for “Obamacare” whatsoever.

The fact that the president of the United States is now boosting a piece of obvious satire as truth says a lot about the current state of online misinformation—and how easily political figures can turn fiction into fuel for their base.