In the wake of the horrific terror attack in Barcelona, which has left up to 16 dead another 80 injured, leaders around their world publicly shared their support by offering condolences and condemning the attacks.
Donald Trump, however, took a somewhat alternative stance.
WATCH: This isn’t the first time the president’s referred to a fake moment in history.
Although his first tweet was a little more on script, his next one referenced a “General Pershing”.
Trump’s a big fan of the General Pershing story – he’s referenced it before on his campaign trail. It’s about the quashing of a Muslim rebellion in the Philippines in the early 20th century, but there’s just one little problem with it…. It’s not true.
Speaking to a South Carolina campaign rally in February last year, Trump touted the governor’s approach.
“They were having terrorism problems, just like we do,” he said. “And he caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage and killed many people.
“And he took the 50 terrorists, and he took 50 men and he dipped 50 bullets in pigs’ blood — you heard that, right? He took 50 bullets, and he dipped them in pigs’ blood.
“And he had his men load his rifles, and he lined up the 50 people, and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said: ‘You go back to your people, and you tell them what happened’.
“And for 25 years, there wasn’t a problem. OK? Twenty-five years, there wasn’t a problem.”
Historians say the story, which first popped up in 2001, has very little evidence to support it.
Moreover, the suggestion that such a tactic, if it had happened, had ended tensions is completely wrong. The unrest in the region persisted for years, forcing Politifact to brand Trump’s “ridiculous” claim a “pants on fire” level of fake news.
