The ‘Raccoon’ Rant Not Written by Steve Harvey
A viral rant that gives props to President Donald Trump and likens immigrants in the country illegally to raccoons repeatedly has emerged in several corners of the internet since ancient 2016.
But the writing has found popularity by attributing it to TV and radio host Steve Harvey and the comic.
Social media articles sharing the pro-Trump message and invoking Harvey’s name and picture have earned tens of thousands of stocks on Facebook.
Titled”HOW I FEEL ABOUT TRUMP,” the piece describes a situation where a cellar is filled with”hundreds” of raccoons — an issue that no exterminator” can deal with.” However, it says, “one man… guarantees to eliminate them.” It suggests that other possible shortcomings do not matter — if he”smells” or”swears,” or”if he is an alcoholic,” or”how many times he has been married.”
“Yes, he is a tiny jerk; Yes, he is an egomaniac; but we do not care!” It states of Trump. “The country is a wreck since politicians suck, the Republicans and Democrats can be two-faced and gutless, and illegals are everywhere. We need it all fixed!”
Some users who commented praised the entertainer prose. “Mr. Harvey speaks and thinks with shared since [sic],” one user composed. But it wasn’t written by Harvey.
Harvey formally endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on his radio show in March 2016. He’d meet with Trump in January 2017 to discuss housing issues, but last year Harvey is known as Trump” among the most immoral presidents we have ever had in my life.”
The writing about raccoons really appears to get originated as part of a submission to the conservative site 100percentfedup. Com, which published it in March 2016 — until Trump formally clinched the Republican nomination for president. The site wrote, “This letter was sent to 100% FED Up! By an anonymous writer,” who was only identified as an”80-year-old American”
The letter was republished on the renowned conspiracy theory website InfoWars two days afterward.
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After that, it took on a life of its own.
In April 2016, an honorary co-chair of Trump’s presidential campaign in New York invoked the exact same analogy in a radio interview, stating, “It does not matter what sort of man is the exterminator, OK? They want the raccoons from the basement.”
In February 2018, the deputy mayor of a New Jersey city posted the piece on Facebook, prompting an outcry that caused his resignation.
Then, in September 2018, the article again attracted attention — when the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania governor, Scott Wagner, recited portions of it while addressing his supporters, referring to it as”the raccoon story.” Democrats condemned the narrative as racist, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, and a Wagner spokesman told the paper that Wagner had read the accounts” in an email that was sent to him.”
Online deceptions have leveraged actors in an effort to make political points: We have debunked false claims about Miley Cyrus, Kurt Russell, and Jennifer Aniston, amongst others.
There can be an explanation for the attribution. A search of public articles on Facebook for”Steve Harvey” and”HOW I FEEL ABOUT TRUMP” reveals that one user that submitted the text on Facebook in January — making some 160,000 stocks — had something in common with the TV host: His title on the platform can also be Steve Harvey. But it’s not the accounts for the comic.
Some who posted the identical text after it moved viral did so using a charge that reads, “COPIED FROM STEVE HARVEY.”
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