Clip showing Trump falling outside limo is AI-generated

"The moment U.S. President Donald Trump stumbles while ascending the steps to board the presidential limousine," reads an Instagram post published in Nigeria on July 25, 2026.

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Screenshot of the false Instagram post, taken on July 29, 2026. AI logo added by AFP

The claim was shared by an account called "@africa_news," which presents itself as a news channel. AFP Fact Check has previously debunked misinformation published by the account.

Similar posts circulated in the US across X and other platforms, including Facebook, Threads, Bluesky and Reddit, 100 days before November's US midterm elections that could reshape the remainder of Trump's term.

"Did you see this? Did Trump's knees just give out, or did he need to rest?" reads one such post published on X on July 24, 2026.

A text overlay on the clip adds: "Not much longer huh Donny?"

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Screenshot of the false X post, taken on July 27, 2026. AI logo added by AFP

Trump, the oldest US president ever inaugurated, has been dogged by questions about his physical and mental health throughout his second stint in the White House, although the 80-year-old Republican has largely avoided the heightened scrutiny over age that shadowed his predecessor Joe Biden.

The "Make America Great Again" leader has repeatedly pushed back against suggestions that he has dozed off during cabinet meetings and other White House events.

Trump's doctor said after a medical check-up before his birthday in June that he was in "excellent health" but needed to lose weight. He is on three medications, two of which are designated for cholesterol control and the third being aspirin for "cardiac prevention." 

But the widely circulated video depicting the president falling before stepping into his presidential limousine is an AI-generated fabrication.

AI-generated clip

A TikTok handle visible in the corner of the clip in the X post  traces it to a July 24 post from the user "@mistertimothytimes" that has been viewed more than 4.5 million times (archived here).

While the post did not carry one of TikTok's AI-generated labels, its caption ended with a disclaimer: "Video is AI, but all the same."

The next day, the user added a stronger warning, amending the caption to read: "Edit 07/25/26 This is AI. As I stated at the bottom of this (original description below) yet no one clicks 'more'. So I had to edit this today and put it at the top."

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Screenshot from TikTok taken July 27, 2026, with AI logo added and elements outlined by AFP

The account owner also uploaded another video further clarifying that the Trump clip was AI-generated (archived here).

An analysis using the AI detector tool Hive Moderation  also determined that the visual was "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content."

The clip contains visual irregularities typical of AI content, including a moment in which the body of the Secret Service agent depicted assisting Trump converges with the vehicle stationed behind Trump's limousine.

Reverse image searches surfaced the authentic footage on which the fake appears to have been based, shared by Fox News on X (archived here).

The X post said Trump was leaving the White House on July 1 to travel to North Dakota, where he attended an event at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

The original, unedited clip showed the president stepping into the automobile slowly but without collapsing.

AFP also distributed photos of Trump approaching the motorcade that day.

Find other debunks related to Trump here.