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No, Trump didn’t post about giving Staten Island to New Jersey | Fact check
The claim: Video shows Trump post about giving Staten Island to New Jersey
A Jan. 11 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a man reacting to a purported X post by President-elect Donald Trump.
“Not ONLY will we expand the US to Greenland and The Panama (US) Canal but I will also be giving Staten Island to New Jersey- 4 Boroughs is MORE than enough! YOU’RE WELCOME! #MakeNewYorkGreatAgain,” reads the supposed Trump post.
The Instagram post was liked more than 6,000 times in five days.
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Our rating: Manipulated media
The post in the video is a fabrication. It does not appear on Trump’s X account, and there are no credible news reports that he proposed giving Staten Island to New Jersey.
No evidence Trump suggested giving Staten Island to New Jersey
In the wake of his election victory, Trump suggested that the U.S. acquire Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark, and the Panama Canal, which is owned and operated by Panama. He has refused to rule out the use of military force and economic coercion to achieve those objectives.
But there is no evidence Trump has posted anything about giving Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, to New Jersey. There is no such post on Trump’s X account, nor does it appear in an archive of his Truth Social posts. There are likewise no credible news reports to support the claim.
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Trump likely would not be able to change state borders on his own. The border between two states can be changed if both state legislatures agree and the deal is approved by Congress, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Trump won nearly two-thirds of the vote from Staten Island in the 2024 presidential election, though Vice President Kamala Harris won New York state.
USA TODAY has previously debunked other fake posts attributed to Trump, including that he vowed to ban porn on the first day of new term, told Elon Musk to “stay in your lane” and urged retaliation against Israel if he is assassinated.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources
Donald J. Trump, accessed Jan. 16, X account
Trump's Truth, accessed Jan. 16, Search results
U.S. Geological Survey, accessed Jan. 16, Boundaries, areas, geographic centers and altitudes of the United States and the several States with a brief record of important changes in their territory
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video shows fake Trump post about Staten Island | Fact check