No, crowd didn't chant ‘Modi-Modi’ during Donald Trump's victory speech

On November 6, 2024, Donald J. Trump won the U.S. presidential election against Democrat Kamala Harris, becoming the 47th president. Trump hosted an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he delivered a victory speech as projections showed him likely to win.

What is the claim?

A video of Trump addressing the crowd quickly went viral on social media, with some users claiming the crowd chanted “Modi, Modi”—a reference to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi—during Trump’s speech. 

In the clip, Trump can be heard saying, “Make America healthy again.” The crowd responds by chanting, “Bobby, Bobby,” after which Trump continues, “He is a great guy, and he wants to do some things, and we’ll let him go do them.” Despite this, users shared the video with captions such as “MODI MODI chants during a Trump victory speech,” and “See the cute smile of Mr #Trump after hearing the chant of MODI MODI... Modi-Trump bond will not only elevate India-U.S. relations but also serve as a lesson to both countries' adversaries.” 

Another YouTube user posted the clip titled “Donald Trump Winner Modi Chants.” Archived posts of these claims are available here, here, here, and here.

Several politicians also shared posts with similar claims, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Bhagaban Das, Jitu Jirati, and Vivin Bhaskaran, with archived versions of their posts accessible here, here, and here.

     Screenshots of the social media posts. (X/YouTube/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

Reports have highlighted the strong relationship between Trump and Modi, underlined by shared strategic interests, diplomatic cooperation, and displays of personal rapport at events such as “Namaste Trump” and “Howdy Modi.” On Wednesday, Modi was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump on his victory, stating he looked forward to further collaboration.

However, our analysis indicates the crowd was chanting “Bobby, Bobby,” in reference to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., not “Modi, Modi” as claimed.

What are the facts?

Some posts included the PBS News logo in the corner, which led us to a longer version of the video (archived here) posted by PBS NewsHour on YouTube on November 6, 2024, titled "Trump hosts election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida." At the 7:52:14 timestamp, the footage matches the viral clip.

In this segment, Trump references Kennedy while stating, “I just want to say that on behalf of this great group of people—these are hardworking people, these are fantastic people—we can add a few names like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And he is going to help make America healthy again.” 

Following this, the crowd chants, “Bobby, Bobby.” Trump continues, “He is a great guy, and he wants to do something, and we’re going to let him go to it. I just said, Bobby, leave the oil to me, we have more Liquid Gold oil and gas, we have more Liquid Gold than any country in the world, more than Saudi Arabia.”

It is evident from the footage that the chant referred to Kennedy, commonly known as “Bobby,” an American politician and lawyer with a controversial stance on vaccines and health.

The Wall Street Journal also posted the video (archived here) on its YouTube channel, where similar footage appears at the 19:33 mark. Several news outlets such as the Guardian and Time reported that the crowd chanted “Bobby, Bobby” after Trump praised Kennedy’s commitment to “make America healthy again.”

The verdict

The viral claim is false. During his victory speech, Donald Trump referred to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as “Bobby,” and the crowd responded by chanting “Bobby, Bobby.” The footage was misinterpreted on social media to suggest that chants of “Modi, Modi” were heard during Trump’s speech.

For more fact-checking and updates on the 2024 U.S. election, follow Logically Facts' coverage here.