Clip shows Trump taunting ex-rival, not Pakistan

Published on May 19, 2025 at 09:15
3 min read
By Felix NATHANIEL, AFP Indonesia

An old video of US President Donald Trump ridiculing a former opponent has been falsely linked to the recent India-Pakistan conflict in multiple social media posts. Fierce fighting between the South Asian arch-foes had sparked global concerns of a full-blown war before Trump announced a truce.

"Trump mocked the Pakistanis who were in need of water after India's government shut off four water sources to Pakistan," reads Indonesian-language text on a SnackVideo post shared May 11, 2025.

The black-and-white clip depicts the US leader at a podium acting as if extremely thirsty.

"I need water, help me. I need water," he says.

Screenshot of false post, taken on May 19, 2025

New Delhi earlier unveiled a raft of punitive diplomatic measures against Pakistan -- including the suspension of a key water-sharing treaty -- after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 people were killed (archived link).

India accuses its arch-rival neighbour of backing the assault but Pakistan denies the charges and has called for an independent investigation.

Intense tit-for-tat drone, missile and artillery exchanges followed leaving nearly 70 people dead before both sides agreed to a ceasefire that Trump unexpectedly announced on May 10 (archived link).

Similar posts on SnackVideo also alleged Trump has been filmed taunting Pakistan, generating angry comments from users who appeared misled by the claim.

"Sick people get elected president," one wrote. Another commented: "The worst president of all time."

But a combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the clip taken from an old Trump campaign speech during his first presidential run posted by American media outlet NBC on February 27, 2016 (archived link).

The longer video shows Trump was attacking Marco Rubio, at the time one of his rivals for the Republican nomination.

"When they put Marco on to refute president Obama's speech, you remember that catastrophe," Trump says, referring to an awkward moment when Rubio paused to drink water during his response to former president Barack Obama's 2013 State of the Union address (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and NBC's video

Broadcaster CNN also reported the speech (archived link).

Although both had previously clashed -- sometimes in bitter and vulgar terms -- Trump has since appointed Rubio his secretary of state following his reelection (archived link).

AFP has debunked more misinformation swirling around the India-Pakistan conflict here.

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