Fact Check: Did Trump make a strange noise during South Carolina rally?

PENDLETON, SOUTH CAROLINA: With the midterm elections just days away, a video circulating on social media platforms claims that President Donald Trump made a strange noise during the rally in South Carolina. The claim has sparked mockery and speculation about the clip’s authenticity, with many calling for a fact-check.

Claim: Donald Trump made a strange noise during a rally

The viral video shows Trump speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina for Republican Sen. Darline Graham.

A clip from the speech then began circulating, which appeared to show him emitting a strange, guttural vocalization mid-sentence, stating, “And I'd say 90% of the reason I took the governor — EHHH! — I took the governor, I put her over at the United Nations, because I wanted this guy to become governor." 

People who came across the video are speculating whether it was a burp or a purposeful expression of dislike or disapproval of the person he was talking about.  

The video has garnered millions of views, with many asserting that Trump simply burped, while others called it a sign of "advanced dementia" or a "mini-stroke."

Fact Check: Donald Trump indeed emitted a strange voice

The claim is indeed true, as the president did make a strange noise during the rally in South Carolina.

The moment took place at the 19:40 mark in the C-SPAN video, where he brought up appointing then-Gov. Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations in 2017, "because I wanted this guy to become governor." 

He then went on to state, “They allowed 25 million people to pour across our borders from all over the world. And if they ever won, they are going to do it all again; they're going to do it again."

"You remember the hell we lived in? It was like a dark period. The proud people of South Carolina, Henry, will never let that happen. Please, Henry, you're gonna be watching; Henry is going to be watching. He's great, he's great,” before making the above-mentioned statement along with the strange noise.

Donald Trump praised the attendee who punched a protester

Further, Trump even praised a rally attendee who appeared to punch a protester as security personnel removed multiple demonstrators from the venue.  

Reacting to the scene from the stage, Trump said, “That was great, man. Wow. Man, I loved that. I watched that,” before asking, “Is everybody okay?” 

"You gotta give them credit. It takes courage to do that at a Trump rally,” Trump said, adding, “He got whacked.”