Video shows former President Donald Trump saying he “just can’t be upset” with Kanye West.
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Altered video appears to show Trump discussing Kanye West
In November, former President Donald Trump hosted and dined with Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West who by then was under fire for antisemitic comments.
In early December, Ye falsely claimed that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler "didn’t kill 6 million Jews" and that the Holocaust didn’t happen.
A few days later, a video of Trump was circulating online. "Kanye has some some stuff recently that people don’t agree with but I just can’t be upset with the man who made ‘Graduation,’" Trump appears to say, referring to Ye’s 2007 album.
A post sharing the video was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Text of Trump’s apparent comments appears over his face in the video, but if you look closely, the audio doesn’t sync with the movement of his lips.
Featured Fact-check
The original footage of Trump is from a 2017 NBC News interview with anchor Lester Holt. Ye wasn’t mentioned during that interview.
The footage of Trump has previously been paired with fake audio in TikTok videos. And following Ye’s controversies, the defense "but he made ‘Graduation,’" has drawn attention, as fans discuss separating the artist from his art.
But we found no evidence that Trump said this.
We rate claims that this is authentic footage of Trump defending Ye False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, Dec, 7, 2022
TikTok post, Dec. 2, 2022
NBC News, Watch Lester Holt's Extended Interview With President Trump, May 11, 2017
Factba.se, Interview: Lester Holt of NBC News Interviews Donald Trump at The White House, May 11, 2017
The Mary Sue, ‘But He Made Graduation’ Meme Trends as Ye Fans Realize the Limits of Separating Art From the Antisemitic Artist, Dec. 8, 2022
Know Your Meme, He Made Graduation, updated Dec. 2, 2022
The New York Times, Jewish Allies Call Trump’s Dinner With Antisemites a Breaking Point, Nov. 28, 2022
PolitiFact, Yes, Hitler was responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jewish people in the Holocaust, Dec. 6, 2022
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Altered video appears to show Trump discussing Kanye West
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