Spygate — Black silhouette of a spy in fedora and sunglasses on white background

Spygate

2018catchphraseclassic

Published September 28, 2026

Spygate is the nickname President Donald Trump gave in May 2018 to an unproven claim that the FBI planted a spy inside his 2016 campaign, coined days after a New York Times report on a bureau informant meeting campaign adviser George Papadopoulos. The tag caught fire on Twitter within hours, drawing mockery, jokes about the 2007 NFL scandal of the same name, and pointed pushback from former FBI director James Comey.

trump memes political satire memes hashtag memes conspiracy memes backfire memes

Overview

Trump rolled out the label in a pair of tweets on May 23, 2018, framing the FBI's use of a confidential informant during the Russia probe as a scandal bigger than Watergate24. Rolling Stone called the framing groundless and pointed out Trump had already cycled through a string of superlatives about the investigation that week3. Fact-checkers at The Washington Post said there was no evidence supporting Spygate but plenty of political motive behind it7.

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Because the word was already trademarked by football fans for Bill Belichick's 2007 videotaping penalty8, the online joke practically wrote itself. Users overlaid Patriots imagery on Trump's tweets, and critics like writer Seth Abramson mocked the branding as an ironic own-goal9. The hashtag #SPYGATE also gave Trump-aligned voices, including YouTube duo Diamond and Silk, a rallying tag to accuse the Obama administration of orchestrating the probe10.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter
Creator
Donald Trump
Date
2018

The catalyst was a May 16, 2018 New York Times story on Crossfire Hurricane, which detailed how two FBI informants had traveled to London in 2016 to meet campaign adviser George Papadopoulos and gauge what the Trump team knew about Russian election interference1. A week of angry presidential tweets followed, echoing his 2017 wiretapping claims.

On May 23, 2018, Trump posted, 'Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State... a major SPY scandal the likes of which this country may never have seen before!'2 Minutes later he added, 'SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history!'4 The second tweet is what officially christened the label and pulled in more than 17,000 retweets in its first day8.

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How It Spread

The tag traveled fast. CNN anchor Jake Tapper answered Trump's post with a GIF of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, the original Spygate villain, drawing more than 6,900 likes in a day5. Writer Seth Abramson called May 23 'THE DAY IRONY BROKE' in a widely shared thread linking Trump to Russian assets9. Diamond and Silk pushed the hashtag as a real scandal supposedly manufactured by Democrats, tying it to Schumer and Pelosi10.

Former FBI director James Comey pushed back the same day, tweeting that the bureau's use of Confidential Human Sources was 'tightly regulated and essential to protecting the country' and asking how Republicans would explain the attacks to their grandchildren6. Rolling Stone, The Washington Post and Fox News all covered the coinage within 24 hours, with WaPo bluntly headlining that there was no evidence for Spygate3711.

Coverage tapered as the Mueller investigation wound on, but the term stuck as shorthand in conservative media for the theory that federal agents improperly surveilled the 2016 campaign8.

Timeline

2018-05-16

The New York Times publishes its Crossfire Hurricane report describing FBI informants meeting George Papadopoulos in London during 2016.

2018-05-22

Trump tells reporters that if the FBI had spies in his campaign it would 'make probably every political event ever look like small potatoes.'

2018-05-23

Trump tweets 'SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history!', officially coining the label.

2018-05-23

Jake Tapper trolls the coinage with a Bill Belichick GIF; James Comey defends the FBI's use of Confidential Human Sources.

2018-05-23

The Washington Post publishes 'There is no evidence for Spygate,' and Rolling Stone and Fox News run their own explainers.

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How to Use This Meme

Spygate is used as shorthand, typically with the all-caps hashtag #SPYGATE, to reference Trump's claim that the FBI illicitly surveilled his 2016 campaign. Supporters often pair it with attacks on the 'Deep State,' while critics commonly deploy it sarcastically alongside Belichick or Patriots imagery to needle the president's borrowed branding5.

Frequently Asked Questions