At 1:30 in the morning London time, the president of the United States decided to start a Twitter war with Bette Midler. As one does. Why would he do that? Was it a way to deflect attention away from the meme-storm devouring his daughter and son-in-law? Maybe, but it turns out it was also a delayed comeback to an insult for which the singer-actress already apologized. Welcome to hell.
Some backstory: On Monday, Midler — no fan of Donald Trump, and vice versa — tweeted out an old quote from 1998 attributed to the current president, in which he called Republicans “dumb.” Turns out that’s not true. Upon becoming aware of this, Midler did what almost no one does when spreading false data on social media: She retracted her tweet and said sorry.
I apologize; this quote turns out to be a fake from way back in ‘15-16. Don’t know how I missed it, but it sounds SO much like him that I believed it was true! Fact Check: Did Trump say in '98 Republicans are dumb? https://t.co/NY9s6V49el via @rgj
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) June 3, 2019
“I apologize,” Midler wrote, “this quote turns out to be a fake from way back in ‘15-16. Don’t know how I missed it, but it sounds SO much like him that I believed it was true!”
Midler then proceeded to call Trump out on things he definitely did, such as falsely calling “fake news” on the number of protesters greeted him on his state visit to England.
Trump said he was greeted by thousands in the UK, but they were actually thousands of protesters. How does he always hear the opposite of the truth? Donald, if you’re reading this you SHOULD NOT slam your dick in a door!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) June 4, 2019
Anyway, cut to over a day later, and most people in England are sleeping. Not the visiting president of the United States. While not sleeping at Buckingham Palace, Trump decided to belatedly go after the Oscar-nominated actress and star of Hocus Pocus, much like that time Homer Simpson thought of a comeback hours after being insulted.
Washed up psycho @BetteMidler was forced to apologize for a statement she attributed to me that turned out to be totally fabricated by her in order to make “your great president” look really bad. She got caught, just like the Fake News Media gets caught. A sick scammer!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2019
“Washed up psycho @BetteMidler was forced to apologize for a statement she attributed to me that turned out to be totally fabricated by her in order to make ‘your great president’ look really bad,” America’s commander-in-chief wrote. “She got caught, just like the Fake News Media gets caught. A sick scammer!”
Trump was so late in striking back at Midler that most of the world, having moved on, were surprised to learn that the woman who sang “The Wind Beneath My Wings” was a “psycho.”
Ah yes, the great presidential tradition of fighting with Bette Midler while traveling abroad.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) June 5, 2019
I'll admit I didn't have "Bette Midler" on my "What will Trump tweet about while in the UK?" bingo card tonight… https://t.co/LjJkoT2J4F pic.twitter.com/WdJOMS9llo
— Judy Kurtz (@JudyKurtz) June 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/wickedsickpoet/status/1136078483891920896
Future historians will now have to record the President of the United States’ public feud with Bette Midler
— Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) June 5, 2019
I saw Bette Midler trending. I was concerned for her health. Phew. Thankfully she's OK. The President, however, continues to be unhinged.
Washed Up Psychos: 1
Trump: 0 https://t.co/9MS05Q4Bjg
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) June 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/darth/status/1136070250464665600
Some pointed out what time he was tweeting.
Who on earth decides it’s a good time to shitpost about Bette Midler at 1:30am? This loser 👇 pic.twitter.com/0LnFZgDTyu
— Jo (@JoannaConn3lly) June 5, 2019
I love everyone pointing out that it’s 1:30 in the morning in London as though it would be normal for the president to fight with Bette Midler at, say, 4 in the afternoon.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) June 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/NoahSmith128/status/1136071183533821952
The stable genius is rage-tweeting about Bette Midler at 1:30AM local time. pic.twitter.com/le73ttBWs2
— Jessa (@jessa_bell) June 5, 2019
Some reminded him that someone who spreads debunked memes, and never apologizes for it, shouldn’t be throwing stones.
Trump mad at Bette Midler for posting a fake quote but crickets when he posted that fake video of Pelosi?! pic.twitter.com/wxKXP7Buxl
— DKT (@darleneturner53) June 5, 2019
Others wanted him to know he was going after the wrong queen.
Bette Midler has was won 3 Emmys, 3 Grammys, and 1 Tony award.
Trump couldn't even win the popular vote.
— Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) June 5, 2019
Donald Trump starting a twitter fight with Bette Midler during Pride Month is a hate crime plain and simple. pic.twitter.com/kOyGMv7Cyt
— Michael Downes (@downesphoto) June 5, 2019
Bette Midler is wealthier than Trump, and that is what upsets him the most
— Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) June 5, 2019
Some pointed out that Trump has a long, weirdly random fixation on Bette Midler.
https://twitter.com/LeviGibian/status/1136070376944033792
Bette Midler is living rent free in trumps head pic.twitter.com/1Vv80x6Il4
— DKT (@darleneturner53) June 5, 2019
Of course, there’s nothing like a good, leftfield reference to 1988’s Big Business.
ah, but which bette midler was he criticizing… pic.twitter.com/iNOneYQyKt
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) June 5, 2019
As it happens, at least one person saw this coming, two years back.
The most Trump thing would be for him to fire off a bunch of tweets at 5:50am about how Bette Midler has gained some weight or something.
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) May 19, 2017
Anyway, it’s been a long day.
Donald Trump’s day so far:
– Calls Chuck Schumer a “creep”
– Calls Bette Midler a “psycho”
– Who the fuck attacks Bette Midler?
– UK trip is a disaster
– Harry Reid tells the House to impeach Trump
– It’s coming and Trump knows it
– Trump is going to prison
– It’s still only 9pm— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) June 5, 2019
It’s a weird night when Bette Midler, Straight Pride Parade, and Smash Mouth are all trending
— Michael Keaton (@RealMikeKeaton) June 5, 2019