A video circulating on social media claims that former U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a letter to former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, making an explosive announcement upon assuming office. The video asserts that Trump has expressed deep respect for Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, stating that no other successful prime minister like her will emerge in Bangladesh’s history. Its further claims that under her leadership, Bangladesh has reached the pinnacle of development and that the country remains secure under her guidance. The video goes on to allege that Trump vowed to bring Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh soon and ensure her return to power through a fair election. As of the time of reporting, the posts containing these claims have been collectively viewed over 100,000 times.

Fact-Check

Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation reveals that the claims attributing such statements to Trump regarding Sheikh Hasina’s return to power are false. The video in question was created using digital editing techniques, incorporating various unrelated, old, and manipulated images and clips to propagate this misleading narrative.

Upon reviewing the viral posts, no credible evidence was found to support the claim that Trump made such statements. Even a keyword search yielded no reliable sources backing these assertions. Although the video displays the logo of mainstream media outlet Jamuna TV, a search of Jamuna TV’s official website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel found no trace of any such report.

Moreover, no credible news reports suggest that Trump recently sent a letter to Sheikh Hasina. Instead, it was found that Sheikh Hasina had previously sent a congratulatory letter to Trump upon his election as the 47th President of the United States. A closer look at the video reveals that it features various clips and images of Trump and Sheikh Hasina. At the beginning of the video, it claims that Trump sent a letter to Hasina, and a clip featuring the logo of Independent Television is included. However, the actual footage contains a caption that reads, "Sheikh Hasina’s Letter to Donald Trump: Wishing Trump and His Wife a Speedy Recovery," rather than anything about Trump writing to Hasina.

Further investigation leads to a video published on Independent Television’s YouTube channel on October 4, 2020, titled "Sheikh Hasina Sends Letter Wishing Donald Trump and His Wife a Speedy Recovery." The initial scenes of this video are identical to the one in the viral post, except that the manipulated version has edited the audio to remove the reference to "Trump" receiving the letter, making it appear as if Trump had sent a letter instead. The original news report clarifies that Hasina’s letter was sent after Trump and his wife contracted COVID-19, meaning that an old, unrelated event was repurposed to support the misleading claim.

Additionally, the segment of the viral video that allegedly shows Trump paying tribute to Sheikh Hasina was analyzed using reverse image search. The results traced the footage back to a December 1, 2017, video on the YouTube channel "Trump White House Archived," where Trump is seen delivering a speech at the 95th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington, D.C. The same footage was also found in a post by Fox Business on Facebook from that same day. Thus, the claim that Trump made a speech honoring Sheikh Hasina is fabricated.

Another frame in the video shows Trump holding a photo featuring himself and Sheikh Hasina. However, a reverse image search failed to find any credible source confirming the authenticity of this image. Instead, a similar scene was found in a news report from Sky News Australia regarding the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. The original image shows Trump holding a document, which was digitally altered in the manipulated video to make it appear as if he was holding a picture of himself and Sheikh Hasina.

None of the clips or images used in the viral video provide any valid reference to Sheikh Hasina or the claims being made. Several other clips featuring Trump and Hasina together are also included, but none of them hold up to scrutiny. A speech by Trump during his inauguration was located on CNN’s YouTube channel, where he discussed economic growth, border security, and taxation—nowhere did he mention Sheikh Hasina, her leadership, or any plan to bring her back to power.

Additionally, a portion of the viral video features Sheikh Hasina speaking, but the audio has been muted. The background of her speech in the video appears to have been altered as well. The Rumor Scanner Team has already published a fact-checking report debunking this misinformation. Therefore, the claim that Trump made statements about bringing Sheikh Hasina back to power is entirely false.

Original News Source: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-check/false-claim-about-trumps-letter-and-speech-for-hasina/136948