Is this a real video of President Trump calling people who say both sides are bad "spineless cowards" and threatening them with "Alligator Alcatraz"? No, that's not true: The audio portion of the clip was generated using AI tools according to specialized detection software. The video was published by an account that says it publishes satire and it has an end screen that says "Unreal".
The video originally appeared in a post on X (archived here) where it was published by "Maverick Alexander" on September 14, 2025 with a description that read:
🚨SHOCKING: Trump takes aim at fence-sitters, calling them "spineless cowards." Unreal.
This is what the first frame of the video looked like:
(Image source: screenshot of video posted by Maverick Darby on x.com.)
🚨SHOCKING: Trump takes aim at fence-sitters, calling them "spineless cowards." Unreal. pic.twitter.com/bFoU2uLmZ2
-- Maverick Alexander (@MaverickDarby) September 14, 2025
The transcript of the video reads:
I can't believe I have to say this, but somebody needs to. It's time. The intellectual babies, total toddlers, who fancy themselves brave thinkers when they say, "Oh my gosh, both sides are bad." are spineless cowards. You know who you are? We all do, quite frankly. I wish we had a surplus of backbone stores in our country, so these people could go pick themselves up a new one.
If I hear one more person suggest allowing the wholesale destruction of the country and opposing it are morally equivalent. You're getting an express trip to Alligator Alcatraz.
An AI detector (Hiya in the InVid verification plugin) confirmed that the audio was not authentic and that it was the result of "voice cloning" and "very likely AI-Generated":
(Image source: Hiya detection results for the audio in the @MaverickDarby clip on X.com.)
The bio of the @MavericDarby account on X (archived here) says it creates satire:
Mostly satire. I make videos, but the podcast is 🎷
The account usually tells viewers when a post is fake or AI in the final frames of the video. In this case, the video ends with this disclaimer: "Unreal: lacking in reality, substance, or genuineness."
(Source: Screenshot by Lead Stories of end of video posted x.com/MaverickDarby.)
