A video circulating on social media shows President Donald Trump surprising military troops at a dining hall. Some users claim that the scene depicts Trump in Washington DC, where thousands of troops of the National Guard were deployed before the election of Pres. Joe Biden on January 20th. This is false. The mislabeled footage shows Trump in Afghanistan in 2019, where he served Thanksgiving dinner to U.S. troops during an unannounced visit to airline base Bagram.
An article with the video (here) initially contains the description: “President Trump Surprise greets the national guard in the NATIONAL CAPITAL”. The message, made on January 18, has a link to a YouTube video uploaded here the same day titled “PRESIDENT TRUMP SURPRISES NATIONAL GUARD IN DC”.
Although some users acknowledge that the footage was incorrectly tagged, other people seem to have viewed it recently. Comments include: “NO MEDIA COVERAGE. THE SAME PROTECTORS ARE ‘FORCED’ TO MEET AND GREET. ‘and “(SIC) You our national guard at the Nations Capital loves their president”
On November 28, 2019, Trump surprises troops at the Bagram military air base in Afghanistan (here).
Reuters could not access the video shared in this claim, but similar footage from another angle can be viewed on the White House YouTube channel youtu.be/6PysYA5TD4w?t=16, youtu.be/6PysYA5TD4w?t = 20, youtu.be / 6PysYA5TD4w? T = 30 (see orange decorations on the ceiling).
Reuters photos of the surprise dinner are visible here.
VERDICT
Untrue. Video shows President Donald Trump surprising US troops during a visit to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan on November 28, 2019.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.