After Donald Trump heard that the disciplinary committee of The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA) held a hearing to discuss the revocation of his membership, he issued a letter of resignation.
The letter said, in part: “This letter is to inform you of my immediate resignation from SAG-AFTRA. You have done nothing for me.” Trump signed the letter “President Donald J. Trump”.
SAG-AFTRA published the letter online on Thursday and received a wide reaction on Twitter with attention turned to the seal used by Trump.
The claim
A Twitter user wrote on Thursday: “Trump is calling himself ‘president’ and wearing the presidential seal as a former president,” in a tweet that won over 2,000 likes and almost 1,000 likes.
Trump calls himself ‘president’ and uses presidential seal as former president
– PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) February 4, 2021
The facts
At the top of Trump’s letter to SAG-AFTRA, there is a stamp displayed, surrounded by the words “Donald J. Trump’s Office.”
Santiago Mayer, executive director of the non-profit organization Voters of Tomorrow, tweeted on Thursday night: “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but wearing the presidential seal when you’re not the president is illegal,” and received more than 40,000 likes and more than 6,000 retweets.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but using the Presidential Seal when you are not the President is illegal.
– Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) February 4, 2021
He tweeted this while “Presidential Seal” was in fashion on Thursday because of Trump’s letter.
The seal used by Trump is not the official presidential seal. However, it is quite similar.
A Twitter user responded to Mayer’s tweet by posting photos for comparison between the presidential seal, the U.S. Great Seal and the Trump seal.
“It’s not quite the presidential seal,” wrote the user.
The presidential seal and the Trump seal contain the Latin “E pluribus unum” and an eagle in the center with its claws holding an olive branch and 13 arrows.
Despite the similarities, there are differences. One difference is that the presidential seal contains stars around it, while the Trump seal has only three stars placed at the bottom.
The decision
False.
Donald Trump did not use the presidential seal in his resignation letter to SAG-AFTRA.
He used his own seal for “The Office of Donald J. Trump” after recently establishing the Office of the Former President in Florida.
The Trump seal is similar to the presidential seal, but contains differences.
Doug Mills-Pool / Getty Images