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California Republicans recently changed delegate rules ahead of the 2024 presidential primary in a way that some say benefits former President Donald Trump.
Previously, Republican presidential candidates could win three delegates in each congressional district in California, "which allowed them to target specific areas without running an expensive statewide campaign" and "walk away with at least some delegates under their belts," Cal Matters reported. Under the new rules, any candidate who can secure more than 50% of votes statewide will get all 169 of California’s delegates.
But recent Facebook posts suggest Trump still doesn’t have a chance, thanks to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.
"BREAKING NEWS: FOX News reports Ca. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the first governor to say Donald Trump is not eligible for future presidential elections & has asked the California’s State Assembly to pass a bill that will remove Trump’s name on any future ballots," reads what looks like a screenshot of a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
It appears that the X post in the screenshot was first shared Aug. 19 from an account that describes itself as a "parody account" that delights in trolling Republicans.
We reviewed Fox News’ website and found no evidence that the network ever reported this. A Fox spokesperson told Reuters that the claim is "false."
Brandon Richards, Newsom’s deputy communications director, told PolitiFact the governor didn’t say this and that "it seems that this is just another case of disinformation spreading on Twitter."
We found no credible news stories or other sources to corroborate the claims in the post.
We rate it False.
Facebook post, Aug. 22, 2023
Facebook post, Aug. 22, 2023
CalMatters, With Trump in mind, California Republicans change delegate rules ahead of 2024 primary, July 31, 2023
X post, Aug. 19, 2023
Email interview with Brandon Richards, deputy communications director, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, aug. 25, 2023
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