Lara Trump Once Mistook A Meme For An Abe Lincoln Quote And Used It In A Speech
Lara Trump's most controversial moments are typically linked to her father-in-law, Donald Trump's, presidency. Unfortunately, this latest incident is no different. The former television producer, who is married to Donald's second son, Eric Trump, seems out of touch with the pop culture trend of making memes with false quotes. Lara, a senior advisor on Donald's re-election campaign, took the stage at the Republican National Convention in 2020.
There, she spoke about her journey, meeting the extended Trump family, and, of course, politics. Lara urged Americans to unite and vote for Trump, noting: "Abraham Lincoln once famously said: 'America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.'" However, the crucial issue with this quote is that while it circulated extensively on social media, it was actually a meme.
What is even more remarkable is that Lara earlier said, "My seventh-grade English teacher, Mrs. B, used to tell us: 'Believe none of what you hear, half of what you read, and only what you're there to witness firsthand,'" (via YouTube). Clearly, she didn't take her teacher's advice to heart.
Abraham Lincoln never actually made the remarks in question
Thanks to internet detectives and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, we know that Abraham Lincoln never actually said those words. He did, however, express a somewhat similar sentiment, hinting that Lara Trump might have benefited from believing only half of what she read online. Politifact reports that Christian McWhirter, a Lincoln historian at the museum, clarified Lincoln's actual quote: "At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher."
Additionally, Lincoln's remarks were not in support of any political party. Instead, they were made as he addressed the issue of mob violence at the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, in 1838. While there are similarities between the alleged quote and Lincoln's actual words, Lara's quotation is demonstrably incorrect. However, compared to the false claims made by Donald Trump and his family members, Lara's error might seem forgivable.
Donald Trump made over 30,000 misleading claims in office
The above figure might seem exaggerated, but The Washington Post documented 30,573 false or misleading statements made by Former President Donald Trump from 2016 to 2020. A significant misstatement occurred during the final year of his tenure, in 2020, when Donald claimed that the coronavirus was "like a flu," per CNN. This was swiftly disproven as the deadly virus has been responsible for over 1.1 million American deaths since 2020, according to Statista, more significant than the flu's death toll for the same period.
The controversial politician also falsely asserted that the head of the Boy Scouts once called him to gush that Donald's words at the National Jamboree in 2017 ranked as "the greatest speech that was ever made to them." This was also disproven by CNN, who contacted a senior source from the organization.
Similarly, Lara Trump's husband has made several eyebrow-raising statements. In 2020, Eric Trump stated that becoming president resulted in financial losses for their family. However, considering the Trump family's biggest lawsuits and that Donald was found liable for fraud in a New York civil case in September 2023, this appears wildly inaccurate.