- By Akanksha Verma
- Tue, 22 Apr 2025 08:00 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi (Vishvas News): A video viral on social media shows the President of the United States, Donald Trump, speaking at a rally when a man appears to slap him and walk away. The clip is being circulated as a recent incident.
Vishvas News investigated the viral claim and found that the clip was edited. The original video was from a 2016 rally, where a protester tried to breach Trump’s security, prompting a swift response from Secret Service agents. Trump was never slapped.
What is viral?
Facebook user 'Siddharth Vallabh' shared this viral video and claimed that US President Trump was slapped on stage.
Investigation
In the viral clip, Trump is seen addressing a public gathering when a man seemingly slaps him before his security intervenes.
To find the original source of the viral clip, we did a reverse image search of its key frames, using Google Lens. It led us to the original video posted by CBS News on March 12, 2016:
According to this video bulletin, a protester tried to climb onto the stage at Trump's Ohio rally, after which agents rushed to protect him.
The footage clearly shows a protester rushing to the stage, but not assaulting Trump. Reports from the time, including coverage by ABC News, confirm this. Another angle of the video confirmed that no physical contact was made.
Vishvas News also spoke to Dainik Jagran’s foreign affairs journalist J P Ranja, who confirmed that no such slapping incident ever occurred.
Notably, there was a deadly attack on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, when he was campaigning as the Republican Party's presidential candidate.
The Facebook user who shared the viral video is followed by around 6,000 people on Facebook.
Conclusion: Our investigation confirms that the viral claim of Donald Trump being slapped on stage is false. The video is a digitally manipulated version of footage from a 2016 rally, during which no physical assault took place.