Someone's doctoring video of Nancy Pelosi, and Trump and his allies seem very into it

Doctored and original video of Nancy Pelosi

(Image credit: Screenshot/The Washington Post)

published 24 May 2019

President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are in a public spat, following Wednesday's very short infrastructure meeting that Pelosi called a Trump "temper tantrum" on Thursday and Trump insisted wasn't, asking five totally objective aides to vouch for him. Trump called Pelosi a "mess" and "crazy," saying she's "not the same person" while he's an "extremely stable genius." Pelosi responded:

But Trump's suggestion that Pelosi, 79 — six years older than himself — is getting too old for her job seems part of a larger campaign. It was a main theme Thursday night on Laura Ingraham's Fox News program and Lou Dobbs' show on Fox Business — Trump tweeted a Dobbs clip featuring selectively edited video of Pelosi, plus GOP strategist Ed Rollins saying Pelosi appears addled by age. Trump loyalist Corey Lewandowski was also on Dobbs, alluding to a different, doctored video of Pelosi spreading around the internet. Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani tweeted, then deleted, that video Thursday night, with the comment: "What is wrong with Nancy Pelosi? Her speech pattern is bizarre."

It isn't clear who originally manipulated the Pelosi video, now widely viewed and shared on social media, but The Washington Post and outside researchers determined the video was slowed to about 75 percent of its original speed, then edited so Pelosi's voice is roughly the right pitch.

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"The altered video's dissemination highlights the subtle way that viral misinformation could shape public perceptions in the run-up to the 2020 election," the Post warns. "Even simple, crude manipulations can be used to undermine an opponent or score political points."

Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler said Trump sharing such "obviously manipulated video" of Pelosi is "yet more evidence she really got under his skin." CNN's Don Lemon agreed. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.