On April 4, former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. His arraignment was held in a New York City courtroom and afterward, he immediately headed to his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he held a post-arraignment speech that was broadcast across most major news networks.
Good Morning America, a morning news show that airs on ABC, is one of those networks that aired portions of Trump’s speech the following day.
After that morning’s show, people online claimed Good Morning America blurred a portion of the podium Trump stood behind that showed a number supporters use to connect with or support the campaign. Other people shared the posts about Good Morning America and wondered if the podium was actually blurred on the program.
In one of Trump’s recent newsletters to subscribers, the subject line said: “We were CENSORED on national TV,” and included a screenshot appearing to show his podium blurred.
THE QUESTION
Was Trump’s podium blurred during an April 5 segment on Good Morning America?
THE SOURCES
- ABC network feed of Good Morning America
- ABC network feed of World News Tonight with David Muir, America This Morning, World News Now and The View
- U.S. Network Pool via The Associated Press
THE ANSWER
Yes, Trump’s podium was blurred during an April 5 segment on Good Morning America.
WHAT WE FOUND
Former President Donald Trump’s April 4 speech at Mar-a-Lago was provided to all ABC network stations via a U.S. pool feed. U.S. pool video is provided to network TV stations and also to news organizations like The Associated Press.
VERIFY confirmed the Good Morning America (GMA) show blurred Trump’s podium, and that GMA feed with the blur was distributed to multiple local ABC affiliates that aired the April 5 morning show.
The podium was also blurred in the video posted to Good Morning America’s website.
However, Trump’s podium wasn’t blurred in any coverage aired on the ABC programs World News Tonight with David Muir, America This Morning or World News Now, VERIFY found.
On the ABC talk show The View, the podium wasn’t blurred, but it was digitally altered, or color-matched. That means the number looks like it wasn’t part of the podium at all.
In U.S. pool footage published by The Associated Press, the number on the podium was not blurred.
VERIFY reached out to Good Morning America, ABC and ABC’s parent company Disney and did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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