“A Shrug After Seeing an Employee Collapse?”: Donald Trump Posts a Deceptively Edited Video of King Charles III

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked a diplomatic controversy by sharing a deceptively edited video on social media that makes it appear as though King Charles III ignored an employee who collapsed in front of him and walked away.
According to the BBC and The Times on the 8th, local time, President Trump posted an edited video on his social media platform Truth Social compiling what it portrayed as the so-called “rude behavior” of major world leaders.
In the video, King Charles III is portrayed as raising both arms and shrugging before leaving the scene as if annoyed, after an employee of a company standing opposite him stumbled and collapsed to the floor.
In addition to King Charles III, the video included scenes of French President Emmanuel Macron walking past a fallen guardsman, former U.S. President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. checking his watch during a ceremony to repatriate the remains of fallen soldiers, and former President Barack Obama saluting while holding a coffee cup. In contrast, the latter part of the video showed President Trump honoring U.S. service members killed in action and warmly embracing veterans, accompanied by the caption “A president of the people,” creating a stark contrast.
However, the BBC pointed out that the segment featuring King Charles III seriously distorted what actually happened when he visited a supermarket delivery center during the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020.
According to the original footage filmed at the time, King Charles III, who was then the Prince of Wales, was startled when the employee collapsed and immediately reached out to help. He then remained nearby with a concerned expression while on-site personnel administered first aid. After the employee regained consciousness and returned, Charles also stood face-to-face with him, asked how he was doing, and spoke with him. The video shared by President Trump completely removed this surrounding context.
British media outlets described the posting as highly unusual, given that President Trump had repeatedly flaunted his friendship with King Charles III and publicly praised him as “a great man.”
The Times criticized the video’s construction, saying it was “virtually identical to pro-Russian propaganda videos on TikTok or YouTube that made Russian President Vladimir Putin stand out by contrasting him with other Western leaders.”
As the controversy spread, Buckingham Palace declined to comment, saying, “We will not issue an official comment on this matter.”
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter