Following the catastrophic July 4, 2025, flash floods in Texas that resulted in more than 100 deaths, a purported quote about the victims by U.S. President Donald Trump spread on TikTok. Trump allegedly said, "I just hope the dead are immigrants."
The claim spread on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram and featured clips of flooding as well as Trump speaking to journalists. A voiceover in one clip from July 11 claimed (emphasis ours):
Trump mocks flood victims in Texas with the cruelest remark of his career. The water destroyed everything: homes, streets, entire families. But what Trump said hurt even more. Following the massive floods in Texas, which have already left 24 dead and over 700 injured, the former president was asked how he planned to help. His response was chilling: "That's in the hands of local authorities."
Then came what many are calling an act of boundless cruelty. When a reporter asked if he felt any compassion for the victims, Trump smiled and replied, "Accidents happen." He added, "I hope the dead are immigrants, not Americans."
That sentence froze the nation and within seconds it went around the world. It became clear: To Trump, not all lives are equal. Latino organizations, activists, churches, and thousands of citizens have raised their voices. They demand an immediate response. They demand dignity. They demand justice. How much longer will this hate-filled rhetoric go unpunished? Comment "Justice for all" if you believe that every life matters and share this scandal before it gets erased. Because silence is complicity.
Trump never said the above words. We found no evidence in his public statements, interviews or on his social media posts about the Texas floods that he hoped immigrants had died in the flooding. The above video and voice-over is likely AI-generated. As such, we rate this claim as false.
The videos with the claims give no visual or audio evidence of Trump using those words. Rather, every example of the rumor has a likely AI-generated voice-over repeating the claim.
Furthermore, the above video incorrectly referred to Trump as a "former president" even though he is the sitting president. The video also claimed his statement spread "around the world." However, we found no media coverage, or extensive outrage from the various groups described in the video. Had Trump really made such a statement, it would have been widely covered in the news.
We searched for examples of the quote in Trump's recent statements around the flooding in Texas. On July 11, 2025, Trump said during a news conference:
The first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really horrific and deadly flood. […] We mourn for every single life that was swept away in the flood, and we pray for the families that are left behind. It's amazing, the incredible spirit from those families.
Trump also praised first responders and criticized a reporter for asking for his reaction to those who said flood warning alerts didn't go out on time: "Only an evil person would ask a question like that," he said.
"I think this has been heroism. This has been incredible. Really, the job you've all done," Trump continued. "It's easy to sit back and say, 'Oh, what could have happened here or there, maybe we could have done something differently.' This was a thing […] that's never happened before."
We found no evidence of Trump making any statement about immigrants through the rest of his news conference.
In one post on TruthSocial, Trump wrote:
These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing. The Trump Administration continues to work closely with State and Local Leaders. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was on the ground yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, who is working hard to help the people of his Great State. Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard, together with State First Responders, have saved more than 850 lives. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!
We have frequently covered misinformation surrounding the Texas floods, including the false claim that cloud seeding caused the floods to occur, as well as a range of rescue stories.