President Donald Trump on Saturday accused his predecessor Barack Obama of “tapping” his phone during last year’s White House campaign, without providing evidence of the explosive charge.
The President levelled the unsubstantiated accusations against the former President, on what seems to be his favourite platform, the micro blogging site Twitter.
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Is it legal for a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
I’d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
The accusations come apparently after the ultra-right US publication, Breitbart, published an article about Obama’s alleged involvement in an authorised wire-tap on Trump Tower durin the Presidential campaign.
The accusations come at a time when tensions were high in the US regarding the Russian hacking case of the Democratic Party website prior to the elections, and the extent of the Trump’s involvement in the hacking, if any.
Needless to say, the tweets went viral within just an hour, with reactions pouring in from all over on Twitter:
Trust me. This “Obama used IC to spy on Trump Campaign,” is going to blow up into a HUGE story. FoxNews is already talking about it.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) March 4, 2017
Trump is having the biggest meltdown of his Presidency so far right now. He’s tweeting that Obama tapped his phones at Trump Tower. #insane
— Skeller85 (@skeller85) March 4, 2017
Obama wire tapped Trump Tower during the election. pic.twitter.com/fwG7ChM6It
— Deplorable Melissa (@sweetatertot2) March 4, 2017
Trump doesn’t care if he goes down in flames, he really just wants to be popular. So his approach is to paint Obama and Clinton as “bad”
— Sir James The Second (@JKH2) March 4, 2017
1/ Trump tries to take our eyes off how he & Putin tilted our election by making up wild stuff re Obama hacking Trump Tower pre-Nov 8! Not
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) March 4, 2017
TRUMP: “Obama tapped my phone. And put kebab meat behind the radiators. And made my wife hate me.”
— The DM Reporter (@DMReporter) March 4, 2017
Many questioned the legality of the accusation and the possible outcomes of such a massive charge:
Questions:
Did Team Trump leak the Obama wiretapping accusation to Breitbart?Is it based on classified info?Will the GOP accept this? https://t.co/nNCdvcz3iO— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) March 4, 2017
Trump coming for Obama could spark major unrest. How long will GOP leadership let this chaos continue just to enact their extreme agenda?
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) March 4, 2017
However, supporters of Trump were not far behind, with ‘Trumpets’ immediately calling for detailed investigations into the wiretap and accusing the Obama administration of pulling off another ‘Watergate’.
Obama wiretap of Trump Tower is Watergate all over! Prosecute Obama!
— GOD LOVE THE SOUTH (@magasouthern) March 4, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump GO AFTER OBAMA! OUR lives life will be HELL for 8 years if you don’t!!
STAY ON OFFENSE Mr. President!!— Females For Trump (@FemalesForTrump) March 4, 2017
#FakeNewsMedia not saying a word about Obama wiretapping trump campaign and tower after fisa warent denied!HUGE REVELATION.and it’s crickets
— Jeremy Sailors (@JeremySailors) March 4, 2017
While Trump was being kind and gracious to Obama, Obama was tapping his phone and preparing to undermine his presidency!
— Boston🇺🇸Bobblehead (@DBloom451) March 4, 2017
It is to be noted that no evidence of the tap has been provided by Trump yet. Obama has been unavailable for comment yet, CNN reported.
(With inputs from AFP)
Feature Image Source: Reuters