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While much has been made of President Joe Biden's age in the run-up to the 2024 election, questions have also been asked about former President Donald Trump's competency.
Trump was mocked for mixing up Biden and former President Barack Obama's names—something he has said was intentional—while Republican rival Ron DeSantis' team this month highlighted a series of Trump's "confused moments" in a thread on X, formerly Twitter, writing that it was "why his handlers won't let him debate."
One recent photo of Trump reaching out to son Donald Trump Jr. led some to question whether the former president needed help standing up.
The Claim
A Reddit post on forum r/WhitePeopleTwitter, posted by user ReviewOk929, posted November 27, 2023, upvoted more than 12,000 times, showed a photo of what looked like Donald Trump holding Donald Trump Jr.'s hand as he walked down a stage. The Reddit post was captioned "Get a load of this..."
The screengrab was taken from a post on X by user @DianeBernaerts, viewed 71,000 times, which said: "Wow, trump has to lean on Jr's hand now?"
The Facts
Whether the posts were intended as a joke or a genuine claim, the photo has been taken out of context, with separate footage showing that Trump did not need assistance.
The photo is taken from Trump's rally in Hialeah, Florida, on November 8, 2023. During the event, the former president bragged about the size of the crowd despite videos showing empty seats.
The photo that was posted on Reddit and X was published by Reuters on November 9,captioned: "Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds Donald Trump Jr.'s hand as he walks during a campaign rally at Ted Hendricks Stadium in Hialeah, Florida."
Separate footage, posted on video streaming site Rumble, shows Trump walking off the stage by himself, turning to wave to the crowd, before continuing down a runway. As he continues, he briefly reaches out and grabs his son's hand before walking on alone.
There are no other points during the video in which Trump can be seen using or asking for assistance to walk or stand. Newsweek has reached out to a media representative of Donald Trump via email for comment.
Whatever the intention of the posts on Reddit and X, Donald Trump has been the victim of misleading online posts before that have attempted to portray him as infirm.
In July, a photo was shared on Reddit showing Trump seemingly being physically supported by an assistant. The photo was, in fact, cropped, taken out of context, photoshopped, and given a misleading description to make Trump look weak.
The Ruling
Misleading Material.
While the photo of Donald Trump reaching out to his son is genuine, he was not leaning on Donald Trump Jr. for support. Video footage taken at the same event, a rally in Hialeah, Florida, shows Trump briefly shaking his son's hand before continuing down a walkway. The footage at no other point shows Trump using assistance to walk or stand.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
About the writer
Tom Norton is Newsweek's Fact Check reporter, based in London. His focus is reporting on misinformation and misleading information in ... Read more