RNC video of riots in 'Biden's America' is actually stock footage from Spain

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube)

published 28 August 2020

It turns out the Republican National Convention's footage of riots in "Biden's America" is neither Biden's nor America.

The Trump campaign has been trying for weeks to pin violence and riots on Democratic nominee Joe Biden, despite the fact that they're happening under President Trump's watch. In a video from the RNC posted Monday, the party's example of that purported left-wing destruction actually came from Spain, Catalonian public broadcaster CCMA first reported and BuzzFeed News verified.

The RNC segment with the mislocated clip features an interview with two entrepreneurs and Trump supporters. They discuss their small businesses, women in politics, and then pivot to what they expect from a Biden presidency. Apparently, it's what has gone on in a few places in America under Trump: "The rioting, the crime," they say, calling it "a taste of Biden's America." Clips of four fires on city streets play as they speak: One from Brooklyn, one from Chicago, one from New York, and then one from Barcelona, BuzzFeed News reports. That clip from Spain was taken in October 2019, and can be found on a website selling stock video footage.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.