claim: donald trump tweeted and deleted a candid, regretful statement in the early hours of new year's day.
question: did donald trump tweet and delete new year’s eve regrets over winning?
origin: at the beginning of 2017, a screenshot of a tweet purportedly posted early on new year’s day by president-elect donald trump was circulated via social media:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  big mistake to run, but love power, revenge, pussy. scared, wanna quit. can’t sleep. been unloved my whole life. cannot fix. #nye2016 #prostate
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the tweet had no date or timestamp appended, and the fact that it existed as a screen capture rather than a link made its provenance suspect. those spreading the image asserted that trump had tweeted and then deleted the atypically self-deprecating comments, leaving screen captures as the only evidence of its brief existence.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  however, deletion of a tweet doesn’t typically remove all record or trace of it from the internet. deleted tweets, particularly from high-profile users, are often captured by various devices and apps before they disappear, but no other record of the purported trump new year’s eve tweet exists. moreover, news outlets regularly report upon notable twitter deletions, a category into which the putative tweet unquestionably fell, but none covered this one.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  politwoops catalogues deleted political tweets and maintains an archive for president-elect trump. according to that record, trump’s most recent deleted tweet was sent on 25 december 2016 and pertained to a contemporaneous fox news appearance. the majority of trump’s december 2016 entries appeared to involve typographical errors (presumably prompting a deletion and reposting of some tweets). none of those deleted tweets expressed regret over winning the presidency, a love of power or revenge, sexual content, feelings of being unloved or inadequate, or made mention of anyone’s prostate.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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comment: an image of a supposed deleted tweet from donald trump expressed feelings of regret and inadequacy over winning the presidency.
summary: a screenshot of a tweet purportedly posted early on new year’s day by president-elect donald trump was circulated via social media. the tweet had no date or timestamp appended, and the fact that it existed as a screen capture rather than a link made its provenance suspect. deleted tweets, particularly from high-profile users, are often captured by various devices and apps before they disappear.