Don't fall for fake Trump post ranting about Paul McCartney, The Beatles

In July 2026, social media users spread a supposed Truth Social post from U.S. President Donald Trump that insulted classic British band The Beatles and called musician Paul McCartney an "ANTI-TRUMP JOKE." A screenshot of the purported post circulated on Facebook. Some users seemed to interpret the rumor as true. Snopes readers contacted us to investigate its legitimacy; one reader asked if Trump went on an "unhinged rant" that "went off on The Beatles." The text of the alleged post read: PAUL MCCARTNEY IS AN ANTI-TRUMP JOKE. And the BEATLES ARE A TOTAL DISASTER, SAD! THEY WERE NEVER TALENTED, JUST A BUNCH OF PEOPLE SCREAMING INTO MICROPHONES! VERY OVERRATED, MAYBE THE MOST OVERRATED BAND IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC! I'VE HEARD BETTER MUSIC FROM MY GARDENER, TRUE STORY! THE MEDIA LOVES THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF THE FAKE NEWS MACHINE! NO TALENT, NO ENERGY, JUST A BIG, FAT HOAX! WE WANT REAL ROCK AND ROLL, NOT THAT WEAK STUFF! MAKE MUSIC GREAT AGAIN! (Facebook user Zeke Sky) The president has not posted any rant about The Beatles or Paul McCartney, per searches of Trump's Truth Social account using Trump's Truth — an archive of all of his posts, including those he deletes — and Roll Call's Factbase, another reputable Trump social media database. This post originated with the Facebook account of Zeke Sky, a musician who frequently posts anti-Trump content. The caption of Sky's post (screenshotted) said: "People will say this is fake. But believe me it is not not unreal." (In other words, Sky essentially said, "But believe me, it is fake.") Sky said in Facebook direct messages that the post was satire. "It was created by a staff writer through a social media post generator," Sky said. "It is not AI." Sky also said he His concerns are sometimes reflected by our readers. Snopes does not prioritize claims based on fact-checkers' own viewpoints of what is frivolous or important, but by reach and reader inquiries. See our explainer for more on why Snopes covers satire and parody, including what some might consider preposterous and obviously fake claims. Aside from the origin of the claim, there are several red flags that indicate that the post isn't real. For example, screenshots of the post did not include the publication date and reaction icons at the bottom of every Truth Social post. Snopes has debunked similar pieces of media before. In April, we put together a collection of 15 fake Trump posts we debunked, which included claims that Trump made the "Melania" movie mandatory viewing in schools, that he's "proud" of his "ICE boys" and that he wants to ban alcohol. Since the effectiveness of satire is subjective, we use "originated as satire" or "labeled satire" ratings based on creators' description of their work. It's your call on whether you agree.