Fact check: Viral video of Donald Trump seemingly defending niqab is from 2015

Social media users were sharing a video on August 15 of US presidential nominee Donald Trump defending the niqab by arguing that veiling is a deeply rooted cultural tradition that Afghan women choose and prefer. However, the video is actually from October 2015 when Trump made a joke about Afghan women at a rally in New Hampshire.

As the US presidential election approaches in November 2024, Trump is intensifying his campaign efforts across key battleground states. Trump’s campaign strategy focuses on solidifying his base and attracting undecided voters by addressing issues such as economic policies, immigration and national security.
On August 15, 2024, a video was shared on social media platform X by a user, self-describing herself as a geopolitical analyst according to her bio, showing Trump addressing the public with the caption,“Donald Trump: Afghan women have been veiling for thousands of years. They want to wear them. What the heck are we getting involved for?”
The post was seen by over two million people.
The same video with the same caption was shared by an Afghan user and seen by over 294,000 people.
The same claim was also shared on social media platform Instagram where it was liked by over 1,150 people.
A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and public interest in the approaching US elections and the actions of Trump, who is often perceived as being anti-Muslim.
A keyword search conducted to investigate the video for “Donald Trump”, “niqab” and “make-up” yielded the same video uploaded by CNN on YouTube on July 21, 2016, titled, “Trump on women wearing burqas—Don’t need make-up.”

The search also showed news stories published by various international news outlets such as CNN on October 26, 2015, with the headline, “Donald Trump’s take on burqas: Islamic women might prefer them”.
According to the news report, Trump joked at a New Hampshire rally on Oct 26, 2015, that women in the Islamic world might prefer wearing the burqa because it eliminated the need for makeup.
Trump had humorously suggested that wearing a burqa was easier as it allowed women to skip applying makeup and added that if he were a woman, he would prefer it too.
Another similar news story was published by The Cut, an American news website, on October 26, 2015, with the headline, “Trump says wearing a burqa is easier because you get to skip putting on makeup”.
Therefore, the fact check determined that the claim regarding a video of Trump defending the niqab of Afghan women is misleading.
The video is old from October 2015, when Trump made a joke about the niqab at a rally in New Hampshire. Sharing the video without specifying its date, location and context can mislead the public and lead to the manipulation of voter sentiment and public opinion, particularly American Muslims, ahead of the US elections.