Bob Oswald
President Donald Trump recently deployed the National Guard in Washington, D.C., to combat crime in that city, and he hinted about doing the same in Chicago.
An Aug. 23 post on X appears to show that Trump has already acted on that decision.
“That didn’t take long. The military’s already showing up in Chicago just weeks before the Pentagon’s planned National Guard deployment,” read the post’s caption.
“The military is here. They on the streets,” a person on the audio says as the video shows two military vehicles passing by. The narrator then repeats “the military is here” several more times.
But this claim is false, according to PolitiFact. It’s based on seeing two vehicles in traffic.
“As of this time, we have not received any orders — federal or state — to activate forces for duty in Chicago,” Illinois National Guard public affairs director Brad Leighton told PolitiFact last week.
Leighton said the National Guard vehicles could be traveling for a variety of reasons, such as maintenance or community events.
“It is impossible to say whether these vehicles are from the National Guard or Army Reserve, which also has facilities near Chicago,” he said.
It appears the video was taken near the Billy Boy’s restaurant in south suburban Chicago Ridge, PolitiFact said. The eatery is within a few miles of an Army National Guard recruiting office and an Army Reserve Center.
In a similar post, with the same video shared on TikTok, a commenter asked if the military was actually in Chicago. The user replied with a video stating, “No, I am a liar, liar, pants on fire.”
Video debunks Trump’s claim
While speaking with reporters Aug. 25 in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump mentioned that Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, of Maryland, approached him at an Army-Navy football game. After exchanging a hug, Trump said Moore told him that he has done a “fantastic job” as president.
But a video shows it didn’t happen that way, according to The Washington Post.
Moore has also denied the claim.
“I’m a person who takes my integrity very seriously, and I spent the past six months before that election campaigning as to why I did not think that he should be the next president of the United States,” Moore told WBAL Radio. “So when I say that conversation never happened, that imaginary conversation never happened, I mean that conversation never happened.”
Carter Elliott IV, a senior communications adviser to Moore, told the Washington Post that the governor and Trump did have one exchange that day, but it was not about complimenting the president.
A video taken by a crew filming for a Trump documentary for Fox Nation shows Moore greeting Trump with a handshake saying, “Welcome back to Maryland.” Moore then asks the president about federal help to rebuild the Key Bridge in Baltimore. Trump replies, “We’ll help you out.”
Moore later posted the clip of Trump’s comments in the Oval Office and wrote, “Keep telling yourself that, Mr. President.”
Constitution wasn’t changed without Congress
Some social media users recently pointed out that the Library of Congress website was missing sections of the U.S. Constitution.
“BREAKING: The official U.S. government website has quietly removed Sections 9 and 10 of Article I from the Constitution,” read an Aug. 6 Threads post. “Let me say that again: They didn’t amend the Constitution. They didn’t debate it in Congress. They just erased two of the most protective sections; the ones that deal with habeas corpus, limits on federal power, and Congress’s sole authority to set tariffs.”
But those sections were only missing from the website, not the Constitution, according to PolitiFact. The Constitution can only be changed by a formal amendment process in Congress.
The Library of Congress, on Aug. 6, posted on X explaining that the missing content was “due to a coding error.”
“We have been working to correct this and expect it to be resolved soon,” the statement said.
A few hours later, the glitch was fixed.
“Missing sections of the Constitution Annotated website have been restored,” The Library of Congress said.
Crash not result of self-driving mode
A video posted to social media shows a vehicle driving on a highway, scraping against a concrete barrier along the right side of the road. When the barrier ends, the car speeds through the opening and hits another car.
“ELECTRIC FORD MALFUNCTION — STEERING LOCKED, GAS FLOORED ON FREEWAY,” reads the text on the post. “Driver seen praying as the car goes out of control before smashing into another vehicle.”
The crash is real, but it’s not because of the self-driving mode, according to Reuters.
The California Highway Patrol issued a statement on Aug. 15 headlined “DRIVER ARRESTED FOR DUI AFTER COMMUTE HOUR CRASH”
“Through our investigation, we determined the vehicle was not operating in autonomous mode, and CHP officers arrested the driver on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), resulting in injuries to another,” the statement said.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at [email protected].
Gerald Steele is the founder of Stonegate Health Rehab. He shares expert insights, recovery tips, and rehab resources to support individuals on their journey to wellness.