FACT CHECK: Viral Clip Of Ron DeSantis Being Heckled With ‘We Want Trump’ Chants Is Altered
A viral video shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, claims Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was purportedly heckled with chants of “We want Trump” at a recent event in Jacksonville.
That’s right, Ron. We want Trump !!
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) August 29, 2023
Verdict: False
The video is digitally altered. Spokespersons for both CNN and DeSantis denied the video’s authenticity in respective emails to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
DeSantis was criticized after he did not meet with President Joe Biden when he visited Florida Saturday to see the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia, according to Newsweek. The storm made landfall last week in Florida’s Big Bend region with sustained winds of 125 mph, The Associated Press reported.
“That’s right, Ron. We want Trump !!,” the X video, viewed over 200,000 times, purports. In the clip, DeSantis appears to be heckled with chants of “We want Trump” at a recent event in Jacksonville. The video also bears a CNN chyron.
The video is digitally altered. There is no mention of the former Republican President in the original video, which has been published on The Associated Press’s verified YouTube channel. However, DeSantis does not receive a warm welcome from the crowd, who begins booing him around the video’s 0:22 timestamp. The video’s description indicates DeSantis attended a vigil in Jacksonville held in remembrance of three Black people who were recently killed by a white gunman.
Likewise, the X clip neither appears on CNN’s website nor its verified social media accounts. The outlet does reference the incident in which DeSantis was booed at the vigil in an Aug. 27 article, however. The article does not reference the purported “We want Trump” chants at all.
In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports indicating DeSantis had been heckled with chants of “We want Trump” at the vigil or that CNN had aired a clip purporting as much. (RELATED: No, Ron DeSantis Did Not Receive $2 Million From A Bank Owned By Dominion Voting Systems)
“This is a fabricated post,” CNN spokesperson Bridget Leininger said of the video in an email to Check Your Fact.
DeSantis spokesperson Jeremy Redfern also denied the video’s authenticity, stating in an email to Check Your Fact that “the audio in the video [shown is] altered.”
Ryan Palmeter, 21, allegedly shot and killed Angela Michelle Carr, A.J. Laguerre, and Jerrald Gallion on Aug. 26 at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville, according to The Associated Press. Palmeter reportedly authored racist writings outlining his hatred for Black people prior to the shooting, the outlet indicated.
