Readers tell me every day that this is the one Substack they never miss—the one they look forward to, open, and actually read. The one that makes them [*checks notes*] snort coffee out of their nose, startle the cat, annoy their spouse, and occasionally “pee a little.” If glowing reviews paid the bills, trust me, I’d leave it at awe, thanks, and we could all skip the groveling.
Alas, this is—somewhat alarmingly—my one and only job, so here we are.
FWIW, an annual subscription works out to about 30 cents a post and comes with a free signed book. If you can’t swing it or aren’t sure you like me that much, free content will resume tomorrow. :)
If anyone on planet Earth happened to be filming Snopes writer Laerke Christensen research the story she published on Monday, please reach out to me—because I would pay actual money to watch it.
“The truth behind Trump’s 13 ‘acts of kindness,’ from checks to cancer treatments,” the headline promised, referencing a viral social media post you definitely won’t hear about on The View.
“For thirty years before he ran for office, Donald Trump quietly paid mortgages, flew sick children across the country, and wrote checks to strangers who needed help. You will not find those stories on the evening news. So here they are,” Snopes wrote, quoting the post’s introduction.
Somewhere around Act of Kindness Number Seven, I imagine our pal Laerke was starting to perspire profusely. Because it turned out, only two of the thirteen claims were deemed false, forcing poor Ms. Christensen to write more than 3,000 meticulously sourced, mostly flattering words about the independent fact-checking website’s least favorite leading man.
I assume there will be a staff wellness day tomorrow.