A conservative commentator was swiftly fact-checked online after claiming that former President Barack Obama was responsible for the 2008 Wall Street bailout—when George W. Bush was still in office.
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. government authorized a massive bailout to stabilize Wall Street through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), signed into law by then-President George W. Bush in October 2008, according to Politico.
Although President Obama supported certain aspects of the plan and continued economic recovery efforts after taking office in January 2009, the initial bailout was crafted and implemented under the Bush administration.
The confusion resurfaced Friday, when Batya Ungar-Sargon, a prominent conservative journalist and frequent commentator on MAGA-aligned platforms, posted on X (formerly Twitter):
"In 2008, President Obama bailed out Wall Street and screwed over Main Street. In 2024, President Trump screwed over Wall Street to bail out Main Street. That's what a lot of Americans are going to remember about last week."
In 2008, President Obama bailed out Wall Street and screwed over Main Street.
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) April 11, 2025
In 2024, President Trump screwed over Wall Street to bail out Main Street.
That's what a lot of Americans are going to remember about last week.
It was such an honor to join @abbydphillip's panel! https://t.co/dlYJ1WDgAX
Her comments, intended to highlight Trump's recent decision to delay tariffs—prompting a brief stock market rebound—quickly drew backlash, not for the economic analysis, but for the inaccurate timeline.
Users on X were quick to point out that Obama didn't even take office until January 2009.
"Um, no. Barack Obama wasn't even elected at that point," user @ash_says_what wrote. "Hey, who was president in 2008?" another user commented, with a third adding, "This is utterly embarrassing and serves as evidence that no outlet need invite you on television ever again."
However, some supporters tried to defend her intent by downplaying the error.
"Yea she messed up the year but was otherwise correct," user @ChuckPajak wrote.
Ungar-Sargon has yet to address the blunder.
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