AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, a long-serving Republican who was once floated as a potential Supreme Court justice by former President Donald Trump, fell for an obvious online hoax on Tuesday.
On X, Lee posted an image of a fake letter purporting to be from the Office of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, announcing the ex-president's death.
One look at the letter's contents, however, would have immediately indicated that it was fake.
The letter listed "getting soft on the Soviet Union" and "failing to rescue several hostages from Iran" as among Carter's "significant foreign policy achievements."
The letter also quoted Carter as making lewd sexual references to both his late wife Rosalynn and former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
"Rosalynn was a baddie. Jill, Melania, even throat goat Nancy Reagan had nothing on Rosalynn," the letter falsely quoted Carter as saying. "She was the original Brat. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it."
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) appears to have been duped by a fake letter announcing Jimmy Carter’s death.
— bryan metzger (@metzgov) July 23, 2024
The fake letter quoted the former president as calling his late wife a “baddie” and the “original Brat” who “throat goat Nancy Reagan had nothing on.” pic.twitter.com/Z0GYDCXwNy
Spokespeople for Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn't the first time, even this month, that Lee has fallen for an online hoax.
On July 5, Lee spread an unverified and ultimately false report that President Joe Biden was suffering a medical emergency on Air Force One.
If Biden is having a medical emergency at this moment — on board Air Force One or otherwise — that raises … a lot of questions. https://t.co/KgnlflGxSd
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 6, 2024
He's also not the first US senator to publicly fall for an online hoax.
In 2023, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas shared a photo of a shark swimming on a floated highway in Los Angeles amid Tropical Storm Hilary.
He later learned it was a joke. "In LA, you never know…" he wrote.