Did Donald Trump Jr. say his father is "one of the most unethical humans in political history," and endorse Joe Biden for president? No, that's not true. The Lincoln Project, a political action committee founded by Republicans working to unseat Donald Trump, posted a heavily edited video in which it appears the president's eldest son is calling his father's actions "criminal conduct," and that he sold out the United States. The video was created by re-editing a lengthier video Trump Jr. himself posted attacking Joe Biden to make it sound like he is trashing his father.
The doctored video (archived here) was published by The Lincoln Project on October 15, 2020, under the title "There, fixed it." It opened:
I'm Donald Trump Jr. I am the son of the president of the United States. One of the most unethical humans in political history.
The Lincoln Project posted on its Instagram page the heavily edited video. Here is a transcript of the Lincoln Project video:
I'm Donald Trump Jr. I am the son of the President of the United States. One of the most unethical humans in political history. Criminal conduct. Prostitution. Human trafficking rings. Threats of extortion. Business meetings. Russia collusion. Public service.
Cocaine.
The corruption extends beyond ethical concerns. It's potentially criminal. My father was threatening to withhold US aid to Ukraine by effectively blackmailing the Ukrainian government with taxpayer money. My father leveraged his political power to sell out the United States of America to our enemies and enrich himself.
Cocaine.
Do you know who was bought for and paid by the Kremlin?
The president of the United States. Who also happened to be Vladimir Putin's closest associates.
The dark and complex interlacings of corruption within the family has now been exposed.
We need someone who will put the interests of the American people over the interest of themselves.
And that person is Vice President Joe Biden.
Cocaine."
The Lincoln Project's video is derived from a six-minute video Trump, Jr. posted on Twitter October 14, 2020 in which he claimed "The Biden family has spent decades in Washington, DC enriching themselves by selling access to Joe Biden's taxpayer funded office. Hunter Biden is corrupt. Jim Biden is corrupt. Joe Biden is corrupt. MUST WATCH!!!" The credit on the video is Students for Trump.
The Biden family has spent decades in Washington, DC enriching themselves by selling access to Joe Biden's taxpayer funded office.
-- Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 14, 2020
Hunter Biden is corrupt. Jim Biden is corrupt. Joe Biden is corrupt.
MUST WATCH!!! pic.twitter.com/6Q9zFnimDa
Trump Jr.'s video is titled "The Biden family is the most corrupt political family in American history."
The Lincoln Project video used edited clips from that to make it appear Trump Jr. is making a scathing argument against his father, and repeatedly saying the word "cocaine" throughout the video. The edited video ends with Trump Jr. saying his father's opponent, Biden, is the best person for the job, which is the opposite of what he actually says in his video.
Trump Jr.s' video does -- like the doctored video -- end with "We need someone who will put the interests of the American people over the interest of themselves," but he does not say "and that person is Vice President Joe Biden."
