Dem lawmaker asks how long before Trump calls it ‘a fake van’

Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush (D) asked on Friday how long it would take before President Trump declared a van seized by authorities in connection with the attempted bombing attacks targeting several top Democrats this week “a fake van.”

“How long before Trump calls it a fake van?” Rush tweeted late Friday morning in response to news reports showing FBI agents in Florida identifying a white van that appeared to be covered in stickers and decals supporting the president and the GOP. 

The Illinois congressman took aim at Trump’s frequent skepticism toward the press and joked that Trump would likely declare the vehicle to be “fake,” referencing the president’s frequent condemnation of the media as “fake news.”

How long before Trump calls it a fake van? https://t.co/BaCXkfrKx2

— Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) October 26, 2018

Rush’s comments followed pictures of the van circulating on social media, which users quickly noted was covered in pro-Trump decals, as well as disparaging images and remarks about Democrats and Trump’s 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Rush had criticized the president just hours earlier, accusing him of being a “conspiracy theorist” after the president appeared to complain that “this bomb stuff” had hurt Republicans’ momentum ahead of next month’s midterm elections.

“The President of the United States is a conspiracy theorist. What a disgrace,” Rush tweeted Friday morning.

The President of the United States is a conspiracy theorist. What a disgrace. https://t.co/iUKH8tsrig

— Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) October 26, 2018

Multiple law enforcement sources told CNN on Friday that the suspect taken in to custody as a result of this week’s bomb scares is in his 50s and lives in Aventura, Fla. An FBI press conference on the arrest is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

The van was taken into custody by FBI agents investigating the mail bombings Friday afternoon.