Trump singles out lone protester with baseless accusation: 'How much is she being paid?’

Systemic Error Podcast · Oct 5, 2026 · 3m

What happened

President Donald Trump singled out a woman protesting his Washington construction plans and asked on Truth Social, “How much is she being paid, and by whom?” RawStory reports that he offered no evidence that she—or any other protester—was paid.

Trump shared her image with his millions of followers and claimed she appeared at demonstrations against renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and his proposed D.C. arch. According to the report, Trump has said the arch would also function as a military installation with drones and snipers stationed on its roof and plaza…