In March 2025, rumors falsely claimed that President Trump wanted to rename Washington, D.C. to the “District of America.” An AI-generated audio clip fueled this misinformation, but investigations confirmed it was not authentic. The source of the audio, a TikTok user, has since become inaccessible, further casting doubt on the veracity of such claims.
In March 2025, a rumor emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump intended to rename the District of Columbia to the “District of America.” This speculation followed his executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The claim gained traction across various social media platforms including Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and X, often accompanied by a purported audio recording of the president discussing the name change.
Investigations revealed that the audio recording was fabricated using artificial intelligence technology, which mimicked Trump’s voice, albeit with noticeable variations in tone and speech patterns. The AI-created recording suggested that Trump had a misunderstanding about “Columbia” in the district’s name, stating, “It’s got nothing to do with Colombia. It’s nowhere near Colombia. From now on, it will be Washington, D.A., District of America.”
A TikTok user named @whmole, dubbed the creator of this audio, has since become inaccessible. The account, which prominently featured other fake audio clips using AI, vanished from the platform, prompting inquiries into its disappearance. Snopes corroborated that this account had been previously associated with several misleading videos.
Despite the viral nature of the audio clip, no legitimate evidence exists to support the claim that President Trump wishes to rename Washington, D.C. Furthermore, other recordings from the same user propagate additional misinformation, such as comparing Elon Musk to “Isaac Neutron” and statements regarding daylight saving time, further illustrating the need for skepticism regarding audio content shared on social media.
The claim that President Trump wishes to rename Washington, D.C. to the “District of America” is unfounded and based on a fabricated audio clip. This incident exemplifies the dangers of misinformation amplified by social media. The absence of credible evidence supports the conclusion that the recording and its claims are entirely false, underscoring the importance of critical evaluation of online content.
Original Source: www.snopes.com
