Fact Check: Is viral clip of Don Jr arguing America ‘should have been sending weapons to Russia’ real?

WASHINGTON, DC: A viral audio clip making the rounds on social media, which allegedly features Donald Trump Jr arguing that the United States "should have been sending weapons to Russia" in its war against Ukraine, has been confirmed as fake.

The audio, which has been widely shared by prominent accounts on X (formerly Twitter), supposedly shows Trump Jr engaged in a conversation with an unnamed interlocutor. In the clip, the interlocutor remarks, “But they forget that Ukraine isn’t the kind of country you go all in on — this is ridiculous.”

Donald Trump Jr sparks controversy in clip claiming US should send weapons to Russia instead of Ukraine

Donald Trump Jr responds in the audio clip, saying: “I honestly can’t imagine anyone in their right mind picking Ukraine as an ally when Russia is the other option. I mean, just think about it: Massive nuclear power loaded with natural resources everyone needs, literally the biggest country on the planet."

"And ha ha, there’s Ukraine, which has Chernobyl, and some radiation-proof dogs. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is definitely the ally we need. Let’s dump all our money into them'. Honestly, if anything, the US should have been sending weapons to Russia.”

The audio quickly went viral, shared by numerous accounts, including one linked to the Democratic National Committee.

A post from the DNC-affiliated account, FactPost, quoted the video, expressing disbelief: "What the f**k. Donald Trump Jr.: “I honestly can’t imagine anyone in their right mind picking Ukraine as an ally… Honestly, the US should have been sending weapons to Russia. Can we send him?"

However, suspicions about the authenticity of the clip were raised soon after. The clip purported to be from a recent episode of Trump Jr's podcast, 'Triggered with Donald Trump Jr.', which was supposedly available on Spotify.

But there was one major issue: the episode in question had not yet been released on the platform at the time the video went viral.

Donald Trump Jr's team debunks clip as fake AI audio amid ongoing Ukraine war controversy

The controversy deepened when Donald Trump Jr's team stepped in to clarify the situation. Drew Lynch, the executive producer of 'Triggered with Donald Trump Jr', confirmed that the video was a fake, telling Mediaite, “This audio is absolutely, 100% fake.”

Andrew Surabian, a spokesperson for Trump Jr, also weighed in on the matter, taking to X to set the record straight.  “This is 100% fake AI generated audio, but I’m sure that won’t stop anti-Trump resistance accounts from continuing to dishonestly spread it,” Surabian wrote, with the post being retweeted by Trump Jr himself.

The fabricated video comes at a time when President Donald Trump, Trump Jr's father, has made controversial comments regarding the war in Ukraine.

Notably, Trump recently referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "dictator" and claimed that Zelensky shouldn’t have ‘started’ the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Despite the debunking of the video, the false claims about Trump Jr continue to circulate in certain online circles.