President Donald Trump and Sen. Markwayne Mullin at the Oval Office – Washington D.C. ( @SenMullin|X.com).
President Donald Trump has a lot on his plate right now, with the re-opening of government after the 43-day shutdown, the results of the mayoral elections, recent trips, media interviews and managing funding for building his ambitious “Trump de Arch.” It’s been a busy week for the Republican candidate.
While weekends are usually a time to unwind, Sen. Markwayne Mullin wanted people to believe that Trump was overworking. The Oklahoma Republican shared a series of glossy Oval Office photos on X, claiming Trump was “working through the weekend.”
According to Atlanta Black Star, Mullin posted the photos around 11:52 a.m. Saturday, writing, “Working through the weekend with President Donald J. Trump. It’s always an honor to be in the Oval Office – I never take this opportunity to serve Oklahoma for granted.”
However, in reality, Donald Trump was hundreds of miles away in Florida, golfing at Mar-a-Lago. Mullin’s attempt to make it look like the president was tackling the government shutdown from the White House backfired spectacularly, and the details on Trump’s desk only made things worse.
Instead of essential policy papers or shutdown briefings, his workspace was covered in printed-out Truth Social posts. Markwayne Mullin perhaps thought that he could fool the netizens and earn some brownie points in front of the world. Eagle-eyed netizens and Trump’s critics were quick enough to realize the lie.
Viewers quickly called out the lie. “Liar! Trump is golfing in FL,” one Threads user snapped. Another added, “How can you be in the Oval Office if he’s in Florida?” Other comments also included users brutally slamming his lies with mean comments.
“Lying when you don’t even have to — there’s a name for that,” one commenter wrote. Another chimed in, “MarKwAyNe is not only stupid, but a bad liar as well.”
President Donald Trump and his administration have been accused of lying several times. Various independent fact checkers and news outlets have exposed the administration’s lies time and again.
Fact-checkers at The Washington Post documented a total of 30,573 false or misleading claims during his single presidential term (2017-2021), an average of approximately 21 per day. Other white lies include Trump falsely claiming that his inaugural ceremony had a much larger crowd than former President Barack Obama’s.
Furthermore, regarding the government shutdown, on Sunday night, the Senate narrowly passed a funding bill with bipartisan support; eight Democrats joined Republicans to push it through. Finally, as of November 13, the 43-day shutdown has ended after a vote in the House of Representatives.
Democrats crossed party lines to vote in favor of reopening the government, and the deal passed 222 to 209 as Trump signed the bill. White House tweeted, “We are so back,” confirming the news.
The shutdown had wreaked havoc on air travel, as key airport personnel, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and air traffic controllers, were affected. TSA has been undergoing extreme staffing shortages and financial strain. With many workers forced to continue without pay, airports across the country are experiencing significant delays and rising safety concerns.
CNN reported that 40 major U.S. airports reduced flights by 6% on Tuesday. At the same time, The Guardian noted over 1,100 cancellations and more than 500 delays.
Major airports, including those in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., were among the most brutally hit by the chaos, as many workers are single-handedly managing several passengers despite not getting paid on time.
So while Sen. Mullin tried to portray Trump as a tireless leader “working through the weekend,” the reality was far different, and users were smart enough to catch him red-handed.
