Video of Trump dancing on White House roof is fake

"The President of the United States is unfit for office," says an August 5, 2025 post on X.

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Screenshot from X taken August 7, 2025

The clip appears to show C-SPAN footage of Trump busting out a go-to dance move from the roof of the White House.

Similar posts spread the same video across X, with some criticizing Trump over the gesture and others celebrating him.

The posts came after Trump surveyed the site of a proposed new ballroom during an unexpected appearance on the roof. Flanked by bodyguards and under the protection of snipers, the 79-year-old leader shouted to reporters below and joked about installing nuclear missiles during his 20-minute stroll.

The video purporting to show him dancing, however, is altered.

The original C-SPAN video on X does not show Trump making any such move, nor does footage available on the network's website (archived here and here).

Two AFP journalists on the scene said that while the president shouted through his hands and made other gestures, they did not observe him dancing.

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US President Donald Trump surveys the grounds of the White House from the roof, in Washington on August 5, 2025 (AFP / Brendan SMIALOWSKI)

A watermark over the altered clip credits the "Dilley Meme Team," an online collective of pro-Trump influencers.

The video appears to have originated with an X account called "drefanzor memes," which is included on a list of "Dilley Meme Team" members. The account says in its bio that it posts "doctored videos."

In subsequent posts, the account referred to the dancing video as a "meme" and said they "made it without AI."

The official "Trump War Room" account also shared the video. Contacted by AFP, a White House official said in an August 7 email: "It is a joke!"

AFP has debunked other misinformation about Trump here.