Bette Midler blasted for tweeting fake Trump quote bashing Republicans, Fox News
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bette Midler was a hounded on social media Sunday for tweeting a debunked quote Trump supposedly gave People Magazine in 1998 regarding running for president as a Republican.
“If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they’d still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific,” read the quote Trump didn’t actually give to People.
“He certainly knew his crowd,” Midler, 73, wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Critics poured in on social media, criticizing Midler for her poor research skills.
“This is completely fake and every informed person knows it is a lie,” read one response.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Why are you circulating a fake quote to your moronic followers?” read another response, to which someone quipped: “She knows her crowd.”
The now-debunked quote first emerged as a meme in late 2015, after Trump’s presidential campaign started to gain traction, according to the fact-checking website Snopes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The meme’s attention prompted ‘People’ to issue a statement saying they had searched their records but “did not find anything remotely like this quote – and no Trump interview in 1998.”