The video shows a Donald Trump impersonator dancing Greek dance, not the former president

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Democratic and Republican candidates are fighting for every vote, including members of the United States’ large Greek-American community. A month-old video resurfaced on Greek social media falsely claiming it showed the former president and Republican candidate dancing the popular Greek folk dance “Zeibekiko.” Social media users either expressed support for Trump in their comments or criticized him for “doing anything to get a vote.” However, the person in the footage is not Donald Trump, but a comedian imitating him.

Less than four weeks before the November 5 election, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are preparing for the final stretch of what could be the closest US presidential election in recent history (archived here).

Although Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has stated that the election result will have no impact on relations between Greece and the United States, both campaigns are vying for votes from the Greek-American community, which has been strong in several US states since the early 20th century century is represented.

At the end of September, Facebook users announced two videos (here and here) of a person resembling Donald Trump dancing the Greek folk dance Zeibekiko, claiming this to be the case the former president and current candidate.

The video was shared more than 900 times in a viral TikTok post on June 20, 2024. “UNLIKELY TRUMP DANCES EUDOCIA’S ZEIBEKIKO DANCE,” the video’s caption reads. Similar claims, including the video or screenshots, have been shared on TikTok (here), X (here) and this Greek website.

In the comments, many people seemed to think the video was of Donald Trump and expressed their support for the US presidential candidate with clapping emojis and messages such as “President Donald Trump in power to keep the whole world safe.” Others criticized the footage.

“They sell their soul for a vote,” one user wrote. “They are doing somersaults to take power,” said another.

However, the video features an impersonator of the former president, not Trump himself.

Donald Trump impersonator

A reverse image search led to this X post from June 2024, which features a TikTok video created by a user named “bobdibuono,” as seen on the left side of the clip.

A search for the username “bobdibuono” led us to the original video posted on Facebook to the Bob DiBuono Live account on May 23, 2024 (archived here).

AFP investigated Bob DiBuono’s online presence and discovered that he is a comedian who sells personalized videos in which he impersonates a former US president.

AFP Fact Check found the same video on Instagram posted the same day by verified account @bob_dibuono (archived here), in which he describes himself as a “comedian and top Trump impersonator.” Appearances on Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel, ABC.

DiBuono usually wears Trump’s red MAGA hat and has also performed as a stand-up comedian in New York City.

DiBuono also describes himself as a “comedian and top Donald Trump impersonator” on his TikTok profile (archived here).

DiBuono has posted videos on his social media accounts imitating Donald Trump. A similar video of DiBuono dancing Greek dances while pretending to be Trump can be found on his TikTok account here (archived here).

In June 2024, the news program “Savvatokyriako with Manesi” reported about Bob DiBuono: “Bob DiBuono from America is the doppelganger of the American president, he appears in shows as Donald Trump, he is invited to parties as a special guest, he could do that.” “When it comes to public appearances, Trump easily doubles up and he gets paid well for every appearance,” says a video from the show dedicated to the American comedian. The video (archived here) was also posted on Bob DiBuono’s YouTube profile on June 17, 2024.

“I have been dancing Donald Trump all over the world for corporate events and private parties since 2016,” says DiBuono, who appears in the video. “Our job is to reflect the craziness of what’s going on in the world. It’s like art imitating life,” he adds.

He also has a personal account on Cameo, a platform that allows people to request personalized video messages from celebrities. In his profile he describes himself as a “Comedian – Donald Trump Impressionist”. This website allows anyone to book a personalized video with him, and he promotes his services as a “master impersonator” whose videos are “a must-see for any true Trump fan.”

Additionally, DiBuono has attracted media attention for impersonating Donald Trump. A 2017 CNN report described him as a “Donald Trump impersonator.” Similarly, Fortune mentions DiBuono in a 2016 article about presidential impersonators (archived here). And in 2016, Rolling Stone magazine mentioned Bob DiBuono as a comedian who played the former president in a fake interview.

DiBuono also confirmed that it was him in the video: “I am in the video recorded with my cell phone at a birthday party in America,” he told Greek fact-checking organization Ellinika Hoaxes on September 23, 2024. AFP had not received a response from him at the time of publication.

AFP previously debunked a similar claim in English about another Trump lookalike. AFP has confirmed a number of false or misleading claims about the US elections here in Greek and here in English.