Following President Donald Trump’s July 3 address, social media has been abuzz with a rumor suggesting former President Bill Clinton criticized Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech in a recent address of his own. This claim has materialized in the form of a 19-minute video, which has drawn criticism and prompted scrutiny.
The video purports to feature a recording of Clinton responding to Trump’s July 3 speech at Mount Rushmore. The accompanying narration, overlaid on a still image of Clinton, states, “You know, there are certain moments in the life of a country where what’s said matters less than where it’s said and why.”
It continues, “Last night, on the eve of America’s 250th birthday, President Trump stood beneath the granite faces of four presidents at Mount Rushmore and delivered a speech that, on its surface, was supposed to celebrate our founding. And parts of it did. But if you listen carefully, really carefully, what you heard wasn’t just a celebration. It was something else entirely. And I want to walk through it with you tonight because I think what happened at that mountain deserves more than a headline. It deserves a conversation. Now, let me start by giving credit where it’s due. The setting was extraordinary. Mount Rushmore is one of the most powerful symbols of American democracy on the planet.”
The alleged speech further criticizes Trump’s remarks on communism, his proposal to abolish the Senate filibuster, and his assertion that the SAVE America Act would ensure Republican electoral dominance for a century.
However, this alleged speech is fabricated. A thorough investigation, including a reverse image search of the still image used in the video and searches for the purported speech content, yielded no credible results. Prominent news organizations would have undoubtedly covered such a significant address by a former president, yet no reports or records of this speech exist.
Furthermore, evidence suggests the audio used in the video was generated using Artificial Intelligence. The original YouTube video featuring this speech included an AI-content disclaimer, and voice detection tools have classified the audio as a likely deepfake.
While the speech itself is false, Bill Clinton did share a written statement on X regarding the United States’ 250th anniversary. This statement, however, does not constitute a nearly 19-minute recorded response to Trump’s Mount Rushmore address.
Reference