Donald Trump Jr has blasted the BBC’s “dishonest” coverage of his father after it was revealed there was concern over the editing of a speech. According to the 19-page dossier compiled by a former member of the BBC’s own standards committee, a Panorama episode aired just days before the 2024 US election “completely misled” viewers about what the US president actually said. The programme, Trump: A Second Chance?, showed Mr Trump declaring he would march with supporters to the Capitol to “fight like hell”.
However, the memo claims that the film spliced together two separate parts of his speech, an hour apart, and omitted the section where he urged crowds to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard”. In response, the eldest son of Donald Trump posted on X: “The FAKE NEWS ‘reporters’ in the UK are just as dishonest and full of s—t as the ones here in America!!!!”
Donald Trump Jr was with his father when he addressed supporters in January 2021, before they stormed the Capitol building.
Abigail Jackson, the White House spokeswoman, told The Telegraph: “Trust in the media is at an all-time low because of deceptive editing, misleading reporting, and outright lies. This is yet another example, of many, highlighting why countless Americans turn to alternative media sources to get their news.”
The document brands the edit “mangled”, accusing the flagship BBC investigation of making the former president “say things he never actually said”.
The panorama presents dramatic footage of flag-waving protesters marching on the Capitol as if it were the direct result of his words, when in reality, the scenes were reportedly filmed before Mr Trump even took the stage.
According to The Telegraph the dossier also alleges that senior BBC chiefs brushed off serious complaints raised internally about the broadcast.
Downing Street and government departments are said to be examining the memo’s contents closely as pressure mounts on the BBC to explain how the disputed edits made it to air during a highly sensitive election period.
On the afternoon of Jan 6, 2021, Congress was meeting to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Shortly after, a violent and heavily armed mob of supporters of the then-outgoing President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.
While lawmakers and staff were shepherded to secure locations or barricaded behind doors, the rioters pushed past severely outnumbered Capitol Police officers, breaking windows and vandalising offices, many with disturbingly violent intentions toward members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence.
