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Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke January 20, 2021

No, the Army Band didn’t play this song as Trump left office

If Your Time is short

  • This video is doctored. 
     
  • In the original clip, the U.S. Army Band is practicing the National Emblem march.
 
See the sources for this fact-check

Donald Trump’s presidential term came to an end as Joe Biden was inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president on Jan. 20. 

Two days earlier, the U.S. Army Band was rehearsing for the inaugural ceremony. Jim Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, tweeted a video of the band and wrote, "Preps for Biden inaugural… you can hear the band playing on WH grounds." 

But that clip has since been edited and repackaged on YouTube, where it has netted more than 20,000 views under this title: "Military brass band plays ‘Hit the Road Jack’ as Trump leaves office."

In this version of the video, a marching band can be heard performing the song "Hit the Road Jack" that was made famous by singer Ray Charles. But that’s not what the Army Band was actually performing. 

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This YouTube post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

A military spokesperson told the Associated Press that the band was practicing the "National Emblem." 

You can listen to a 1914 recording of the march here. 

We rate this YouTube post False.

 

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