US president also retweets article from notorious conspiracy theorist and image of ‘Trump train’ running down person with CNN logo on their face

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Donald Trump continued his morning routine of posting eccentric messages on Twitter by sharing a tweet by a man calling the president a fascist, another sent by a conspiracy theorist, and an image of a train labelled “Trump” hitting a person with the CNN logo on their face.

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Trump, or someone close to him, quickly deleted the retweet of a Twitter user named Mike Holden calling him a fascist, but other postings lingered into the morning.

Holden’s message was sent in response to Trump’s retweeting of a Fox News article reporting that the president was considering pardoning disgraced Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, which led to some confusion about whether he was calling Trump or Arpaio a fascist, but Holden clarified shortly after that it was a message directed at the president.

About 15 minutes after Holden’s message was shared on the president’s verified account, it was un-retweeted, but the author ensured his message would carry on past its potentially fleeting fame.

Mike Holden (@MikeHolden42) I'm announcing my retirement from Twitter. I'll never top this RT. pic.twitter.com/HuGHkiPoyR

Holden, who tweets often about Brexit and describes himself as “foreign”, said he would “never top” the retweet and made it the background image on his profile. He also changed his profile description to say: “Officially Endorsed by the President of the United States. I wish that were a good thing.”

The president on Tuesday morning had also retweeted, then un-retweeted, a cartoon image of a train labelled “Trump” hitting a person with the CNN logo on their face. “Fake news can’t stop the Trump train” was written across the image.

Though two retweets were disappeared within an hour, two survived the morning cull.

One was a link to an article about Chicago gun violence sent by Jack Posobiec, a Trump supporter known for promoting conspiracy theories. Posobiec, who supported Trump’s election campaign, is known for promoting discredited theories about the killing of the Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich. He also propagated the erroneous “pizzagate” allegations against the Hillary Clinton campaign that prompted a man to walk into a restaurant with an assault rifle and fire off three rounds, among other falsehoods.

Posobiec also led a group that tried to discredit anti-Trump protestors by planting a “rape Melania” sign at an opposition rally, according to BuzzFeed News.

Quick guide What is the 'alt-right'? Show Hide Who coined the term 'alt-right'? The white supremacist Richard Spencer devised the term in 2010. He has described the movement as "identity politics for white Americans and for Europeans around the world". What does it stand for? The movement supports extreme rightwing ideologies, including white nationalism – used interchangeably with white supremacism – and antisemitism. It positions itself broadly against egalitarianism, democracy, universalism and multiculturalism. Some "alt-right" supporters have argued that their hardline, extremist positions are not truly meant, but are a way to disrupt conventional and accepted thinking. Memes, irony and ambiguity are sometimes used in an attempt to wrongfoot critics. How does the 'alt-right' relate to the Trump administration? The Trump administration includes figures who are associated with the "alt-right", including the former Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon, who worked as chief strategist in Trump's White House in 2017. Many of Trump's policy positions have won favour with the movement.

The other retweet was a news story from the official Fox & Friends account that claimed the president was “seriously considering” a pardon for ex-sheriff Arpaio, who was found guilty of contempt of court last month for defying a judge’s 2011 order to stop traffic patrols targeting suspected undocumented immigrants in Arizona.

“I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio,” the president told Fox News on Sunday.

He said the pardon could come within days if he decides to act on it. Arpaio, 85, could be sentenced to up to six months in jail, though a court may avoid jail time because of his age.

Holden’s message calling the president a fascist was sent in response to the Fox & Friends tweet about Arpaio.

Holden explained that he had not realized the president had retweeted the message until his Twitter account started getting an overwhelming amount of notifications.

Amid the chaos, Holden sent this tweet: