Clip shows Donald Trump praising former German chancellor, not Yoon Suk Yeol

"Shocking interview by Trump: 'Yoon Suk Yeol is the world's greatest leader'," reads the Korean-language caption of a video shared on the right-wing Ilbe forum on August 4, 2025.

The video shows a clip from the "Mornings with Maria" show on the Fox Business channel (archived link).

The host appears to be conducting a telephone interview with Trump, in which he says: "Fantastic leader. I was with somebody the other day that thinks she's the greatest leader in the world today. She’s the smartest and the greatest leader in the world today." 

Korean-language subtitles superimposed on the clip, however, do not translate the pronoun "she", creating the false impression Trump was referring to Yoon.

The former South Korean president, who was impeached in June 2025 after attempting to suspend decades of civilian rule on December 3, 2024, is currently in detention and resisting questioning by special prosecutors (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false post captured on August 5, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same 10-second clip was also shared in similar posts on South Korean right-wing communities on Naver Band and YouTube.

"Even the world's leader Trump understands that the true winner is President Yoon," read a comment on one of the posts. 

Another said: "President Trump surely will come to President Yoon’s rescue."

A keyword search on Google found the original footage was posted on the verified Fox Business YouTube channel on August 20, 2015 with the title, "Trump: Angela Merkel is the greatest leader in the world" (archived link).  

Trump, who at the time was running for the Republican presidential nomination, was speaking on the phone with host Maria Bartiromo.

The clip used in the false posts was taken from the 4:02 mark of the Fox Business video, after Trump was asked to give his thoughts on Merkel.

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the Fox Business video posted in August 2015 (right)

The full transcript of the interview -- available on the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara -- shows Trump was responding to the question about Merkel (archived link).

He was then asked for his opinion on then-UK prime minister David Cameron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and China's President Xi Jinping.

Trump's description of Merkel was also referenced in a report by US media outlet The Intercept in 2018, in the context of his criticism of Germany's immigration policies (archived link). 

As of August 6, 2025 there have been no official reports about Trump praising Yoon in such glowing terms.

AFP has previously debunked similar instances of Trump remarks and social media posts being misrepresented as references to South Korea.