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Following the victory of Donald Trump in the 2024 United States Presidential Elections, a video of the president-elect is being shared on social media platforms.
What does Trump say?: "I am a big fan of Hindu and a big fan of India, big big fan. Let me start by stating right up front, if I am elected President, the Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House."
Social media users have shared this as a recent clip following Trump's victory.
(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)
Is the claim true?: The claim is misleading as this video is old from 2016.
Trump had spoken at a fundraiser organised by the Republican Hindu Coalition in New Jersey where he called himself “a big fan of Hindus” and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This took place three weeks before the 2016 US elections.
What we found: We ran a keyword search using the terms in the viral clip.
We came across a video on Asian News International (ANI)'s Facebook page from 16 October 2016. It was the same clip as the viral video.
The agency wrote, "US Elections 2016: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says, "Im a big fan of Hindus & of India; if elected as (the US) President, the Indian community will have a true friend in the White House" (sic.)
We, then, ran a keyword search and came across reports by the New York Times and the Indian Express from 16 October 2016.
Both reports noted that Trump had made this statement at benefit put together by the Republican Hindu Coalition at a convention centre in Edison, New Jersey.
We also found full speech from the fundraiser on Republican Hindu Coalition's YouTube page from 2016.
Trump praised PM Modi at the benefit and called him a "pro-growth leader." He added that India was a key and strategic ally of the USA.
The 2016 US Presidential Elections were held on 8 November 2016 where Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Conclusion: An old video of Trump calling himself a “fan of Hindus“ is being shared as recent after his win at the 2024 US elections.
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