On 22 April 2025, a terrorist attack targeting tourists took place in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), a terrorist organisation, initially claimed responsibility for the attack. However, on 25 April 2025, TRF issued a fresh statement on its social media platforms, denying any involvement in the Pahalgam incident and distancing itself from the earlier claim. The attackers had opened fire on tourists in the Baisaran area, popularly known as Mini Switzerland. Several media reports stated that survivors recalled how the terrorists asked the victims about their religion before shooting them dead (here, here). According to reports, the attack claimed the lives of 26 people (here, here). In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, the Indian government took a series of strong measures against Pakistan, accusing it of supporting militant activities. India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.
In this context, a video of US President Donald Trump is going viral on social media (here, here, and here), where he is seen jokingly drinking from a water bottle and saying, “Ha… Ha… I need water. Help me, I need water. Help.” The video is being shared with the claim that President Trump mocked Pakistan after the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The video shows US President Donald Trump mocking Pakistan after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Fact: The video is from a February 2016 campaign rally where Donald Trump mocked his 2016 rival Marco Rubio for awkwardly drinking water during his 2013 response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. It has no connection to the Pahalgam terror attack or the Indus Water Treaty, or Pakistan. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to an extended version of the same video, which was uploaded on the Facebook page of NBC News on 27 February 2016. The caption read, “Donald J. Trump mocks 2016 rival Marco Rubio’s infamous water bottle moment while on a campaign stop in Fort Worth, Texas, on 26 February 2016.” This indicates that the video has no connection to the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Taking clues from the Facebook post, we used relevant keywords and found several reports covering the same incident (here, here, and here). According to these reports, the video shows Donald Trump mocking Marco Rubio (American politician) for awkwardly drinking water during his 2013 response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. Trump is seen addressing a crowd, recalling the moment and saying, “Do you remember that disaster when Marco Rubio was asked to respond to President Obama’s speech, and how he was gasping for water in the middle of the speech?” He then mimics Rubio by holding a bottle, spilling some water on the floor, and drinking from it. The video is from a campaign rally held in Fort Worth, Texas, in February 2016. Reports also mention that Trump’s act came in response to remarks made by Rubio at a Republican Party event, as part of the back-and-forth between the two during the 2016 presidential primaries.
In the United States, the State of the Union address is an annual speech delivered by the President to inform the nation’s lawmakers and citizens about the country’s current status, key achievements, and plans for the future. In 2013, then-President Barack Obama delivered this speech, after which Senator Marco Rubio gave a response on behalf of the opposition Republican Party.
The speech referred to in the viral video, mocked by Donald Trump, was Marco Rubio’s 2013 response. We found the video of that speech uploaded on The New York Times YouTube channel on 13 February 2013. The video highlights how Rubio awkwardly paused mid-speech to take a sip of water, which later became a subject of widespread political humour, including Trump’s 2016 mockery.
To sum up, an unrelated 2016 video of Donald Trump is falsely shared as him mocking Pakistan after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty.
