BBC faces fresh claim of misleading Trump edit
The BBC was accused of misleadingly editing Donald Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, two years before the Panorama series that led to the director general’s resignation.
The clip was broadcast on Newsnight in 2022, and a guest on the live show objected to the way the clip was put together: The Daily Telegraph reported.
On Monday the BBC apologized for an “error of judgment” in an edited portion of the same conversation broadcast on Panorama last year.
This resulted in the resignations of BBC director general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness, and a legal threat from US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s lawyers have written to the BBC saying he will sue the BBC for $1bn (£759m) unless the company recants, apologizes and pays compensation for the Panorama broadcast.
BBC News has contacted the BBC for comment.
In Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, he said: “We will march to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators, congressmen, and women.”
More than 50 minutes later, he said in his speech: “And we’re fighting. We’re fighting like crazy.”
On the Panorama show, the clip shows him saying: “We’re going to march to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we’re fighting. We’re fighting like crazy.”
The editing on the Newsnight program is slightly different.
He is seen saying: “We’re going to march on the Capitol. And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we’re fighting. We’re fighting like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you ain’t got a country no more.”
Responding to the clip on the same show, former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who left his diplomatic post and criticized Trump after describing the January 6 riots as a “coup attempt,” said the video “puts together” Trump’s speech.
“The phrase ‘We fight and we fight like hell’ actually comes later in the conversation, and your video makes it seem like those two things have come together,” he said.
The Telegraph also reported that a tipster told the paper that another debate due to take place the next day had also been closed.
A leaked internal BBC memo last week claimed that Panorama misled viewers by splicing together two parts of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, making it appear as if he was openly urging people to attack the US Capitol after his election defeat.
The documentary was released days before the US presidential election in November 2024.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said his speech on January 6, 2021 was “butchered” and the way it was delivered “defrauded” viewers.
