Fact Check: This Photo Allegedly Shows a Trump Animatronic Figure as It Appears in Disney World. Here's What We Learned

Claim:

A photograph authentically shows the animatronic version of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Disney World’s “Hall of Presidents” in Orlando, Florida.

Rating:

In June 2024, a photograph claiming to depict former former U.S. President Donald Trump's animatronic figure at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, went viral. The Trump robot has been the subject of numerous jokes and memes since Disney World included him in their "Hall of Presidents" exhibit in 2017.

It is real.

The photo below shows the animatronic figure, which many have likened to actor Jon Voight or claimed was actually a repurposed Hillary Clinton animatronic.

We found footage of the show on the Associated Press website as well as on Attractions Magazine—a news publication that covers theme parks and attractions.

The exhibit features robots of all the presidents in U.S. history, a number which speak in front of a panoramic screen showing key moments of history. Trump's animatronic voice can be heard saying, "From the beginning America has been a nation defined by its people."

Attractions Magazine showed a longer version of the animatronic figure's speech in which it began by saying, "I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

We took a screenshot of the Trump animatronic figure from Attractions Magazine and found it was very similar to the image in the above Reddit post, but was taken at a different moment under different lighting.

(YouTube user "Attractions Magazine")

The show, which lasts around half an hour, depicts Trump alongside his 43 predecessors. Per The New York Times coverage, and as seen in the above footage, Trump stands next to a seated Abraham Lincoln in the center of the stage.

According to a 2018 report in the Tampa Bay Times, the exhibit changed its voice-over narration for the exhibit. Originally, actor Morgan Freeman used to present all the presidents, but the voice was changed to that of an unnamed woman after Trump's figure was introduced. Freeman's publicist told the paper to "Ask Disney" about this change, but Disney did not comment. In 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden's animatronic figure was added to the exhibition.

We have previously covered rumors surrounding the Trump animatronic figure, including a fake claim that the robot was being removed from the hall. We also reported on the unconfirmed rumor that Disney, expecting Hillary Clinton to prevail in the 2016 election, had built a Clinton robot, only to hastily repurpose it after Trump won.

Sources:

"Animatronic Trump Debuts at Disney World." Associated Press, 2017. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxgfVxGPbO0. Accessed 24 June 2024.

Barnes, Brooks. "President Trump, the Animatronic Version, Comes to Disney World." The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2017. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/business/media/president-trump-disney-world-hall-of-presidents.html. Accessed 24 June 2024.

"I Sat through Disney's Hall of Presidents Five Times. It Says More about Us than Trump." Tampa Bay Times, https://www.tampabay.com/features/travel/attractions/I-sat-through-Disney-s-Hall-of-Presidents-five-times-It-says-more-about-us-than-Trump-_165255804/. Accessed 24 June 2024.

Palma, Bethania. "There's a Longstanding Rumor That Trump's Animatronic Figure at Disney World Was Originally Hillary Clinton." Snopes, 7 July 2021, https://www.snopes.com//articles/354791/animatronic-trump-hillary-clinton/. Accessed 24 June 2024.

PerryCook, Taija. "Is Disney Removing Trump From Hall of Presidents Ride?" Snopes, 19 Dec. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/hall-of-presidents-trump/. Accessed 24 June 2024.

"Pictures: At Disney's Hall of Presidents, New Joe Biden Animatronic Debuts." Orlando Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2021/08/04/pictures-at-disneys-hall-of-presidents-new-joe-biden-animatronic-debuts/. Accessed 24 June 2024.

"President Trump Animatronic in Hall of Presidents at Disney's Magic Kingdom." Attractions Magazine, 2017. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGLQ54Mg370. Accessed 24 June 2024.