FACT CHECK: Did Trump Forget His Wife’s Name During CPAC Speech?
A video shared on social media purports former President Donald Trump called his wife by the wrong name during a speech.
TRUMP CAN’T REMEMBER HIS WIFES NAME. TRUMP IS SENIAL. https://t.co/5GowhQIpGl
— POPPO (@poppo2023a) February 25, 2024
Verdict: False
The claim is inaccurate. The video was taken out of context.
Fact Check:
Trump and President Joe Biden both visited the U.S.-Mexico border recently, The Washington Post reported. Trump met with Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott on Thursday and Trump gave a speech denouncing Biden’s handling of the border.
A post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows Trump during a recent CPAC speech. The video shows him refer to his wife Melania and then apparently refer to her as Mercedes.
The caption reads, “You won’t see this reported on Fox News or in the NY Times because they’re all busy calling President Biden old. But here’s Trump calling his wife, Melania, ‘Mercedes.'”
The claim is inaccurate. The video was taken out of context. The full video shows that Trump was talking to Mercedes Schlapp who was in attendance at the event. Schlapp worked in the Trump White House as director of strategic communications and referenced her earlier in the speech.
Biden also used the out of context clip to attack Trump’s cognitive ability. He captioned the video saying, “Donald, man. Check the tape.” (RELATED: Fact Checking Biden’s Recent Claims About Wage Growth, Inflation)
Donald, man. Check the tape. pic.twitter.com/PwXb9iqP4j
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 29, 2024
This is not the first time misinformation has been shared online. Check Your Fact debunked a claim that Johnnie Cochran died mysteriously after support reparations.
