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Did Trump say 14 is legal age
Executive summary
Donald Trump publicly called for Washington, D.C. law to be changed so prosecutors could try juveniles as adults “starting at age 14,” a position he promoted on Truth Social and in remarks about youth crime [1] [2]. Claims that he posted “14 IS OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS!!” or that he sought to federally lower the age of consent/marriage to 14 are treated differently by fact-checkers: a Truth Social screenshot with that exact wording was found to be fake, and Snopes traced related viral rumors about lowering age-of-consent or marriage laws to misleading or unproven assertions [3] [4].
1. What Trump actually said about “starting at age 14” — law-and-order framing
In August 2025 President Trump urged changes in D.C. law so that teenagers “starting at age 14” could be prosecuted as adults and face long sentences; that language appeared on his Truth Social post and was repeated in multiple news reports summarizing his push to federalize and crack down on youth crime in the District [1] [2]. Police- and local-coverage outlets and national outlets quoted the phrase in the context of his broader announcement that the federal government was assuming control over aspects of D.C. policing and juvenile prosecution policy [2] [5].
2. Viral posts that say “14 IS OLD ENOUGH…” — fact-checks say fake
A widely shared screenshot purporting to show Trump writing “14 IS OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS!!” in reference to Jeffery Epstein victims was investigated and determined not to be an authentic Truth Social post; Snopes noted font, date-formatting, missing account elements, and absence of the post in archives as indicators the screenshot was fabricated [3]. In short: a viral one-line post claiming he said 14 is “old enough to make your own decisions” is not supported by the platform record according to Snopes [3].
3. Separate but related rumor: lowering age of consent or marriage to 14
A distinct set of online claims alleged the administration sought to reduce the age of consent or federally allow marriage at 14; Snopes investigated and described such rumors as circulating and misleading, noting that marriage and age-of-consent rules are historically state-controlled and that the viral narratives combined partial facts and speculation [4]. Snopes also pointed out that a few states’ laws historically permitted child marriage under narrow circumstances, which contributed to confusion in the rumor mill [4].
4. Two different policy threads — juvenile prosecution v. age-of-consent/marriage
Reporting shows Trump advocated lowering the threshold for charging juveniles as adults to 14 in D.C. (criminal-justice policy) — a prosecutorial and sentencing proposal [1] [2]. That is different from claims he sought to change the age of consent for sexual activity or federally lower marriage age to 14; available sources do not show a federal policy or authentic presidential post explicitly proposing to change age-of-consent or marriage laws to 14 [4] [3]. Where sources do document advocacy, it is about criminal prosecution of minors in D.C., not an across-the-board change to consent or marriage statutes [1] [2].
5. How reporting and misinformation intersect — what to watch for
Misinformation here blends three things: (A) a real Trump call to prosecute some 14‑year‑olds as adults in D.C. (reported by The Hill and others) [1]; (B) fabricated social-media screenshots falsely ascribed to Trump (Snopes flagged at least one example) [3]; and (C) broader, older rumors about lowering age-of-consent/marriage rules that fact-checkers find misleading and reliant on selective state examples [4]. Readers should check primary posts (archived Truth Social entries) and rely on fact-checks before accepting dramatic one-line screenshots as authentic [3] [1].
6. Political and legal context — federal vs. state powers and motivations
Changing who prosecutors can charge as adults implicates local criminal-justice statutes and federal intervention in D.C.; multiple outlets framed Trump’s comments as part of a law-and-order pitch and a claim that D.C. policies were “totally out of control” [5] [2]. By contrast, altering age-of-consent or marriage law nationally would require federal legislation or executive action in a domain typically governed by states — a legal and political hurdle noted by fact-checkers and legal analysts [4].
7. Bottom line for readers
Yes — Trump explicitly advocated prosecuting minors “starting at age 14” in the D.C. context [1] [2]. No reliable evidence in the supplied reporting shows an authentic Truth Social post where he wrote “14 IS OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS!!”; that screenshot was judged inauthentic by Snopes [3]. Claims that he is federally seeking to lower age-of-consent or national marriage age to 14 are not substantiated in the sources provided and have been challenged as misleading by fact-checkers [4].