Did Donald Trump Shove Someone in Viral Video Clip?

A clip of former President Donald Trump went viral on social media after it raised the question as to whether he had shoved a man at his Mar-a-Lago resort, but a video shot from another angle showed him patting the man on the back.

The original short video was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by the Patriot Takes account, and has been viewed more than 580,000 times. "Did Trump shove this guy out of his way?" the account wrote. The video does not give the full picture, but shows Trump extending his arm rapidly and afterwards a man leaving the frame in a relaxed manner.

The man in question appeared to be former Senate Judiciary Committee adviser Garrett Ventry.

"Guys this isn't a scandal. I was talking to President Trump after his speech, we then took a picture, then he patted me on the back and walked away. The internet is insane," he posted on X along with a video shot from a different angle, which supported his version of what actually happened.

A number of other social media users had said the former president appeared to aggressively try to move Ventry out of the way. Some also noted that in 2017, while president, Trump appeared to shove aside Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic at a NATO summit in Brussels in order to get to the front and center of a photo call.

"When you have no fear of a physical response, this is what you do!!" wrote X user Corwin Melvin in response to the video.

Others suggested that Trump was just giving Ventry a pat on the back.

"Come on. Trump sucks in many ways, but this was clearly his doing a shoulder pat. Let's focus on the real stuff," one X user wrote.

Trump supporter Mike DePorch posted: "Trump patting somebody on the back. Look at the comments. Side effects of having a weak mind and brainwashed by Propaganda. We really need Mental Asylums back."

Trump, the current frontrunner in the 2024 Republican nominee race, was recently ordered to pay nearly $355 million in penalties after a judge ruled he had filed fraudulent financial statements that inflated the value of his properties and assets for years, including Mar-a-Lago.

The former president valued his Mar-a-Lago resort from 2011 to 2021 at between $347 million and $739 million based on the premise that it was unrestricted property and could be developed for residential use.

Trump had repeatedly insisted that the Florida resort was actually worth more than $1 billion based on the incorrect assumption it could be resold as a private residence, and not a social club as it is listed in its deed.

"There is no legal gray area surrounding the permanent nature of the deed restrictions," Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in his ruling. "Accordingly, there can be no mistake that Donald Trump's valuation of Mar-a-Lago from 2011 to 2021 was fraudulent.

"Donald Trump insisted that he believed Mar- a-Lago is worth between a billion and a billion five today, which would require not only valuing it as a private residence, which the deed prohibits, but as more than the most expensive private residence listed in the country by approximately 400 percent," Engoron added.

Update 2/21/24, 11:13 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Correction 2/22/24. 12:19 a.m. ET: Corrects the spelling of Judge Arthur Engoron's name. Also updates with new information from the man in the video with Trump.