No, Trump Wasn't Holding Son's Hand As a result of He Wanted Assist Leaving Stage

On June 16, 2024, progressive podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen posted (archived) a photograph of Donald Trump on Fb. The image confirmed the previous U.S. president strolling a purple carpet on an elevated stage whereas holding the hand of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Based on Cohen’s caption, Trump held his son’s hand as a result of he wanted assist leaving the stage. Cohen wrote, “Trump has to carry somebody’s hand to information him off stage. Cognitive decline?”

Democratic strategist Adam Parkhemenko additionally posted the picture on Threads on June 17, writing, “I can not think about why they preserve falsifying pictures and video of Biden. It is nearly like an try to distract whereas nonetheless projecting as at all times.”

Some posts on X made comparable claims, whereas different posts on Reddit and X had been extra obscure of their assertions.

Nevertheless, the image didn’t present Trump holding his son’s hand as a result of he wanted assist leaving the stage. The pair rapidly grabbed one another’s fingers for round one second as the previous president continued strolling.

A YouTube video offered by the Proper Aspect Broadcasting Community channel shows the second Trump and his son briefly grabbed fingers. That second happens simply after the 7:48:45 mark on this clip:

A consumer on X additionally posted a video of the temporary second exhibiting the reality. The consumer wrote, “‘No Lie Brian’ mendacity, as standard,” a reference to Cohen’s podcast, “No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen.”

This deceptive rumor was merely the newest chapter within the ongoing saga of customers making gentle of the ages of Trump, who’s 78, and U.S. President Joe Biden, who’s 81. As we beforehand reported, as soon as the 2 males safe the Republican and Democratic nominations, they would be the two oldest presidential nominees representing a serious political occasion.

On June 21, USA Today reported the picture in query was taken throughout a marketing campaign rally in Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2023. Reuters credited photographer Octavio Jones with capturing the picture.

Based on AFP, Trump marketing campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung referred to as any posts selling the false narrative concerning the picture as a “low-cost faux.” The reporting from June 20 talked about Biden’s marketing campaign repeatedly used the identical time period to characterize misleading videos exhibiting him at numerous occasions.

The Poynter Institute’s initiative MediaWise defines low-cost fakes as “pictures or movies which have been manipulated utilizing cheaper, extra accessible video modifying software program.” MediaWise continued: “Low-cost fakes can even edit out necessary context or possibly reorder clips to change the narrative to deceive you and form your opinion.” They’re fairly totally different from deepfakes, which contain a video displaying a manipulation of lip motion and probably a full face substitute.

We contacted Cohen to ask about his put up and the Trump marketing campaign to inquire in regards to the picture and AFP “low-cost faux” quote, and can replace this story if we obtain any responses.

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