FACT CHECK: Spliced video misrepresents Trump’s remarks on drugs, Marcos’ reaction

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Clips of Trump discussing the US opioid crisis in 2017 and Marcos’ reaction during a 2024 weather briefing were stitched together to create a false narrative

Claim: A video shows US President Donald Trump saying drugs are bad, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reacted to the statement and looked confused.  

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim has been circulating on Facebook and YouTube. The one on Facebook, posted in March, has garnered 2.6 million views. The YouTube version posted in May has 233,000 views, but users are still commenting and interacting with the video as of writing.

“There is nothing desirable about drugs, they’re bad,” Trump says in the video, with the caption claiming it was the US president’s message to Marcos.

The Philippine president is then shown scratching his head while saying, “Anong gagawin natin? (What are we going to do?)” Text overlaid on top of the video reads, “Bongbong Marcos takot na kay Donuld (sic) Trump (Bongbong Marcos is now afraid of Donald Trump).”

At the end of the video, clips of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte saying, “Patay ka (you’re dead)” and a laughing man are shown.

The sequence of clips suggests that Marcos’ reaction was a response to Trump’s statement, which was seemingly directed at him.

Comments left on the video on both social media platforms also show that viewers believed Marcos was reacting to Trump, often bringing up how the current Philippine administration allowed Duterte’s arrest on charges of crimes against humanity over his bloody war on drugs. “Aw hadlok gyud basta sad an (He is afraid because he is at fault),” one of the comments states, with others accusing Marcos of being a drug addict because of his confused demeanor.

The facts: The videos were taken out of context and stitched together to create the false narrative of Marcos being afraid of Trump because of the latter’s message about drugs.

The clip of Trump comes from a 2017 video of him declaring the US opioid crisis a public health emergency. The full transcript of his statement found on the White House’s official website makes no mention of Marcos, who was not even president at the time.

The clip of Marcos was cut from an October 2024 situation briefing on Typhoon Kristine, and made to look as if he was reacting to Trump’s statement.

The White House, which records transcripts of Trump’s public statements, has no record of the US president talking about Duterte since his arrest last March. 

Duterte and Marcos: The misleading video first surfaced in March, coinciding with Duterte’s arrest for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with his bloody war on drugs. He is currently detained at an International Criminal Court (ICC) facility in The Hague, Netherlands.

The former president’s arrest has stoked ongoing tensions between the Marcoses and Dutertes. The former political allies have engaged in word wars in recent years, with Duterte repeatedly calling Marcos a drug addict and Marcos firing back by mentioning Duterte’s fentanyl use.

Their supporters have also engaged in disinformation by doubling down on drug accusations and calling Marcos a traitor. (READ MORE: [DECODED] How online supporters made a victim of Duterte after ICC arrest)

Previous fact-checks: As Duterte remains in custody, several false posts regarding his ICC case, detention, and statements of support for his war on drugs have circulated. Rappler has debunked these claims:

• FACT CHECK: Trump’s sanctions on ICC judges not related to Duterte’s case
• FACT CHECK: ‘News report’ of Duterte aboard a plane returning to PH is fake
• FACT CHECK: No decision yet on Duterte’s interim release request
• FACT CHECK: ICC has not yet released Duterte to return to PH
• FACT CHECK: Duterte not back in PH with the help of Chiz Escudero     

– Shay Du/Rappler.com

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