On 31 March 2017, a number of web sites (including Opposing Views and Proud Liberal) posted articles reporting that United States President Donald Trump was considering resigning. The web sites all cited a tweet posted by Claude Taylor, a travel photographer who says he worked as a staffer in the Clinton White House:
An ind journalist I have worked with-who has been reliable-says they have 2 sources that say Trump is considering options-incl resignation.
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) March 31, 2017
We reached out to Taylor on Twitter but have not received a response. Because the claim is hearsay, based on an unnamed source quoting other unnamed sources, it is impossible to verify without further information.
The rumor seems couched in the apparently darkening cloud surrounding President Trump's former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, who resigned after 24 days in office over revelations he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his meetings with a Russian envoy. On 30 March, the Wall Street Journal broke news that Flynn offered authorities and intelligence officials an interview in exchange for immunity against prosecution.
It is not the first time questions have floated about the 45th president's tenure in office. On 17 March 2017, Sen. Diane Feinstein told an activists in her home state of California who asked how Trump could be removed from office: "“We have a lot of people looking at this, technical people. And I think he is going to get himself out.” She went on to say that Trump's adult children traveling overseas for private business purposes while spending taxpayer money to do so should be illegal.
The resignation of a U.S. president has only happened once in history — Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal. President Trump has made no public indication of any intent to resign.