Associated Press’ fact-checking on the shutdown gets dragged on Twitter

The Associated Press is under fire from Twitter users for the wrong reasons after apparently tweeting that President Donald Trump and Democrats are both the blame for the ongoing government shutdown went viral on Tuesday, according to The Huffington Post.

READ MORE: White House releases photos of Trump “hard at work” during the government shutdown

The tweet was posted from the news agency’s Twitter account stating, “Democrats put the blame for the shutdown on Trump. But it takes two to tango. Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion for his border wall is one reason for the budget impasse. The Democrats refusal to approve the money is another.”

AP FACT CHECK: Democrats put the blame for the shutdown on Trump. But it takes two to tango. Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion for his border wall is one reason for the budget impasse. The Democrats refusal to approve the money is another. https://t.co/9IWnqUgl2d

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) January 9, 2019

Twitter users dragged AP, but not for what you might think. They were poking fun at the “two to tango” phrase used in the tweet.

Users of the social media platform bashed AP by poking fun at the “two to tango” phrase used in the tweet such as Twitter user @XLNB:

JESUS CHRIST HOW ARE Y’ALL THIS BAD AT THIS! DEMOCRATS ARE NOT TO BLAME IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE FOR NOT GIVING THIS RACIST CHEDDAR BISCUIT BOI MONEY FOR A MANUFACTURED CRISIS! STOP BOTH SIDING THIS!!! pic.twitter.com/bPMx29yr8B

— X (@XLNB) January 9, 2019

Washington Post reporter, Erik Wemple tweeted a statement on Wednesday morning from an AP spokesperson addressing the tweet, stating, “The tweet was intended to point out that Democrats has refused to accede to President Trump’s demand which preceded the president’s decision to refuse to fund the government without wall funding included.”

READ MORE: Its Official: Trump shuts down U.S. government in continued fight over his border wall

Asked @AP about that much-criticized tweet promoting a fact-check on the shutdown and got this statement from a spox. https://t.co/B1ywSIWY4D pic.twitter.com/tASfHjZW33

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) January 9, 2019

The government is currently entering day 19 of the shutdown, according to CNN, impacting many federal agencies and workers..

On Tuesday, President Trump delivered a prime-time address on immigration making a case for funding for the wall along the U.S. and Mexico border, according to CNN.

“The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: because Democrats will not fund border security,” President Trump stated in his address. “My administration is doing everything in our power to help those impacted by to help those impacted by the situation, but the only solution is for Democrats to pass a spending bill that defends our borders and reopens the government.”