The video claiming to show Trump threatening to destroy Pakistan is misleading; it uses AI-generated audio over a clip from his 2016 speech.
On 22 April 2025, a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, killed 26 people, with reports stating that the victims were targeted based on their religion. Although ‘The Resistance Front’ initially claimed responsibility, it later denied involvement. In response, India took strong diplomatic actions against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, expelling military advisors, closing border crossings, and imposing strict visa restrictions.
Amid ongoing tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, a video (here, here, and here) of US President Donald Trump is going viral on social media. In the clip, he is allegedly heard saying, “If Pakistan attacks India, I will not sit back and watch. I will destroy Pakistan because Modiji is my friend, and I love Indians.” In some versions, he is heard saying he would support efforts to “erase Pakistan.” Let’s verify the authenticity of this viral video.
Claim: The viral video shows former U.S. President Donald Trump challenging Pakistan, saying he would destroy the country if it attacks India.
Fact: The video is from a September 2016 event where Trump discussed economic reforms at the Economic Club of New York. The original footage contains no such statement. AI detection by HIVE confirmed the video is authentic, but the audio likely AI-generated. In fact, Trump condemned the Pahalgam attack and expressed support for India’s fight against terrorism while describing both India and Pakistan as friends and hoping for a peaceful Kashmir resolution. Hence, the claim is MISLEADING.
To verify the truth behind the viral video, we performed a reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip. This led us to a video uploaded by CNN on its official YouTube channel on 16 September 2016. A close examination confirmed that Donald Trump’s attire and the background in the viral video matched the original footage. The video description mentioned that it was from a speech of Trump at the Economic Club of New York.
Further research about the event, including a Reuters report (here, here, here and here), confirmed that the viral video is from a September 2016 speech delivered by Donald Trump at the Economic Club of New York. The speech focused entirely on domestic economic reforms, including tax cuts, reduced regulations, and stricter trade policies. Trump claimed the plan would boost economic growth and create jobs, but experts at the time were sceptical, calling it overly optimistic and potentially risky for the U.S. economy. The statements heard in the viral video, particularly those referencing India and Pakistan, are absent in the original speech.
Since the original video does not contain the audio heard in the viral clip, we used the AI detection tool HIVE to verify its authenticity. The results confirmed that while the video itself is genuine, the audio has a 99% likelihood of being AI-generated.
Many media outlets reported that Donald Trump condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and expressed support for India’s fight against terrorism. However, while discussing India-Pakistan tensions (here, here, and here), he inaccurately stated, “Both countries have been fighting in Kashmir for a thousand years.” Trump also described the attack as “despicable” and claimed tensions along the border have lasted “1,500 years,” though he expressed hope that the leaders would resolve the issue. He added that the tension between the two countries has always existed.
To sum up, the video claiming to show Trump threatening to destroy Pakistan is misleading; it uses AI-generated audio over a clip from his 2016 speech.