Fact Check: Posts claim Trump gave 'Nazi salute' at Fourth of July fireworks. Here's what we know
A video authentically shows U.S. President Donald Trump giving a "Nazi salute" at the White House 2025 Fourth of July fireworks gathering.
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While the video was authentic and unaltered, Trump's gestures did not align with a common definition of the "Nazi salute."
A rumor that circulated online in early July 2025 claimed a video showed U.S. President Donald Trump giving a "Nazi salute" at the White House's Fourth of July fireworks gathering. The clip showed Trump blowing a kiss and moving his right arm to his right, then blowing a second kiss with his hand raised in a wave to the gathered crowd.
For example, a TikTok video (archived) with more than 333,000 views featured the caption, "Everyone was talking about the kiss but that's not what I was shocked by…" The same user also reposted the video (archived) to respond to a user who initially believed someone created the clip with an artificial-intelligence tool.
Other users shared the same video on Facebook (archived), Reddit (archived) and X (archived), including with captions calling Trump's gestures either a "Nazi salute" or "Seig Heil." Additional commenters also suggested someone created the clip with AI.
However, again, the video — an unedited clip — simply showed Trump blowing two kisses to the crowd gathered for the Fourth of July fireworks celebration at the White House. "Tales of Hi and Bye," a book by Torbjörn Lundmark about customs surrounding greetings and farewells describes a Nazi salute, also referred to as a "Roman salute," as follows: "The Roman salute is made by thrusting the right arm forward, palm facing downwards, at an angle of around 45 degrees" (archived). Neither of Trump's two gestures aligned with that description.
A White House spokesperson told Snopes of the users claiming Trump gave Nazi salutes, "This is obviously not true."
The New York Post broadcast a live video on YouTube during the fireworks celebration. The in-question moment occurs at the 9:30 mark:
Trump's blown kisses greatly differed from tech billionaire and former White House adviser Elon Musk's firm gesture given twice in front of an Inauguration Day gathering in January, in which users claimed his arm movements amounted to Nazi salutes. Musk accompanied his gestures with the words, "Thank you. My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured, thanks to you."
At the time, some users falsely claimed pictures showed politicians belonging to the Democratic Party also displaying Nazi salutes, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as well as former President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris. An examination of each of those cases found users presented those images out of context.
Ibrahim, Nur. "No, These Politicians Did Not Make the Same Gesture as Elon Musk." Snopes, 25 Jan. 2025, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/musk-kamala-harris-salute/.
Liles, Jordan. "Did Musk Give 'Nazi Salute' at Trump's 2025 Inauguration Rally? Here's What We Know." Snopes, 21 Jan. 2025, https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/01/20/musk-nazi-salute/.
"Live: President Trump and Melania Trump Watch Fireworks from White House Balcony." YouTube, New York Post, 4 Jul. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/live/hFRU6oxHWlc.
Lundmark, Torbjörn. "Hi, Hitler! Arm Salutes at Various Angles." Tales of Hi and Bye: Greeting and Parting Rituals Around the World, Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 18–25. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511657450.004.
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