President Trump falls for fake news, retweets altered Gary Varvel political cartoon

Justin L. Mack | The Indianapolis Star

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump retweets, deletes meme of train hitting CNN Just hours after condemning the hate groups at the Charlottesville rally, President Trump retweeted a far-right activist, a train hitting CNN, and a man calling him a fascist. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@fantasticmrnate) reports.

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis Star editorial cartoon, retweeted Tuesday on President Trump’s account and later deleted, is an altered version of artist Gary Varvel's original cartoon published in January.

MSNBC, The Daily Beast and CNN reported that Trump's account retweeted out the altered image that includes the words "fake news can't stop the Trump train."

In response, a White House official told The New York Times that the tweet of the train was posted inadvertently and was deleted as soon as it was noticed.

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The original image, published Jan. 13, depicted a Democratic donkey trying to hold back the Trump train before the president's inauguration.

The fake image covers the donkey's face with a CNN logo and adds the statement about fake news being unable to stop Trump.

“We don’t know who altered Gary’s original cartoon, but we’re looking into it,” said Jeff Taylor, editor and vice president for news. “The cartoon was altered without anyone’s knowledge or permission at the Star."

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This isn't the first time Trump's account has retweeted an altered image showing aggression towards CNN.

In early July, Trump tweeted out a GIF from one of his 2007 World Wrestling Entertainment appearances. The altered clip showed Trump wrestling WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the ground and punching him.

In the GIF, McMahon's head was replaced with the CNN logo.

Follow Justin L. Mack on Twitter: @justinlmack