Donald Trump, Former American President
Photo source: The White House
By Taiwo Adeyemi
Claim: A video shared on multiple social media platforms showed former US President Donald Trump condemning Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and praising Peter Obi, ex-presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
Verdict: False! The viral video is fabricated. The original footage was part of Mr Trump’s daily interview series to mark the first 100 days in office in April 2017.
Full Text
Recently, a video went viral on various social media platforms showing former President of the United States, Donald Trump, purportedly attacking Mr Tinubu and praising Mr Obi.
In the video, Mr Trump said the former Anambra governor understands governance better than the Nigerian president.
“Tinubu is one of the most clueless presidents Nigeria has ever produced. If Nigeria must make progress, it must look for young, smart leaders like Peter Obi, who understands how economics works in governance and diplomacy,” he said,
“Not old men who can’t stand by themselves, who would sleep through meetings and conferences. Nigeria needs Peter Obi as their president if they must make genuine progress as a people.”
The video ended with applause from the audience.
Mr Obi was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election in Nigeria. He enjoys support from young Nigerians, mostly called the Obidients, who campaigned vigorously for him in the last presidential election.
Mr Tinubu contested under the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2023 general election and was declared winner by the nation’s electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
This was challenged by the opposition candidates to the Supreme Court, where his victory was upheld.
However, after less than two years in office, Mr Tinubu’s administration has faced heavy criticism from many citizens for the high cost of living and inflation, which have been linked to the removal of the petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira implemented by his administration.
Angered by the economic realities in the country, some Nigerians started a nationwide protest on August 1, calling the government’s attention to the hardship facing the citizens.
Many of the protesters berated the Tinubu-led administration for its alleged incompetency and demanded that the subsidy removal be reversed.
Amid the ongoing protest, the video of Mr Trump purportedly berating Mr Tinubu has garnered widespread attention, particularly among critics of the Nigerian president.
But is the video true? Due to the sensitivity of the footage, DUBAWA subjected it to scrutiny to ascertain its veracity.
Verification
It was observed that the audio does not sync with Trump’s lip movement. It appears the audio was created and imposed on the clip, making the entire clip doctored or fabricated.
The researcher used Google Reverse Image Search to verify some keyframes in the video. The findings revealed that the original footage was part of Trump’s exclusive interviews, “One-on-One with President Trump,” discussing his administration’s performance in May 2017.
It was aired by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), an American commercial broadcast television and radio network.
Further checks using keyword searches on search engines showed Mr Trump had not made any comment regarding Mr Tinubu’s administration.
A screenshot of NBC News official website of a one-on-one with Trump on 12th May 2017.
Conclusion
The video of Mr Trump criticising Tinubu’s administration was doctored and, therefore, false. The original footage was from a 2017 interview Trump granted to mark his 100th day in office as president of the United States.