Friday, March 29, 2024

FACT CHECK: No, The White House is NOT Selling a $125 Commemorative Coronavirus Coin

Liberal websites and verified Twitter accounts – including an MSNBC producer – have claimed the Trump White House is selling a commemorative coronavirus coin. The only problem is, it’s not true.

A website called WhiteHouseGiftShop.com started selling commemorative coins in April.

But the site has nothing to do with the White House, nor the U.S. government, nor President Trump, contrary to what far-left websites like LGBTNation would have you believe:

The head of the far-left ‘Media Matters’ website implored his followers to stop spreading the fake news on Wednesday afternoon.

Matthew Gertz tweeted:

Few, however, heeded his call.

In addition to general bleating from anti-Trump social media accounts, Twitter’s verified users on the left began sharing the baseless claim:

The list of fake news merchants extended to NBC/MSNBC producer Nick Ramsey, who usually blogs about drag queens for the NBC website.

He wasn’t the only “blue checkmark” to do it:

The shop itself has a curious backstory.

While seemingly once affiliated with the White House under President Harry Truman, the website now appears to be run privately by an individual named Anthony Giannini.

Talking Points Memo reported in 2018:

It seems pretty clear to me that The White House Gift Shop has no actual connection to the White House or the U.S. government. It seems like it either did or does have some sort of informal connection the Secret Service. But that’s not clear. Indeed, it’s not even clear it has a current legal status as a corporation.

And there’s a little more to the story:

There was once an actual ‘White House Gift Shop’ in the basement of the Old Executive Office Building. But the current ‘The White House Gift Shop’ is a private for profit company which has no connection to the White House or the Secret Service or any other government entity, despite that fact that it seems to go to some lengths to give the impression that it does.

Here’s the story. The White House Gift Shop is wholly owned by Giannini Strategic Enterprises, LLC located in an office on 301 Front St in Lititz, PA and incorporated in Pennsylvania. That’s where the store is located too. GSE is owned by Anthony Giannini, who is also the CEO and Executive Director of ‘The White House Gift Shop.’

As I explained earlier, the history of the Gift Shop goes back to a service organization affiliated with the US Secret Service. As recently as a decade ago it was run by the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division Benefit Fund. But on December 27th, 2011 the UDBF signed a contract with Giannini Strategic Enterprises to take over the Gift Shop business and run it on the UDBF’s behalf. In essence, the UDBF licensed GSE to run their store on its behalf.

Never mind all the facts, eh?

As long as the left gets a few fake news jabs off at this White House, the fact checkers at Twitter and other social media companies will turn a blind eye and let the world consume confect, anti-Trump stories all day long.

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