On Dec. 13, 2025, a shooter killed at least two people and injured nine others during final exams at Brown University. Three days later, the culprit was still at large.
In the wake of the shooting, people began sharing a claim (archived) over social media that U.S. President Donald Trump said "Things can happen" in reference to the Brown University shooting. Some of the posts included a video apparently showing Trump saying the phrase.
The claim was posted to several social media sites, such as Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Reddit (archived), Bluesky (archived) and X (archived)
This was a real quote from Trump. He said it during a Dec. 14, 2025, Christmas reception at the White House.
The White House posted a YouTube video of Trump's reception speech on its website (archived). C-SPAN also uploaded a video of Trump's speech.
Trump said "things can happen" in reference to the Brown shooting about 1:41 into the YouTube video. In C-SPAN's recording, Trump said the line at 1:40.
Trump started his speech by saying he wished to pay his respects to the victims of the Brown University shooting, as well as victims of a
And Brown University — great school. Great, great, really one of the greatest schools anywhere in the world. Things can happen. So to the nine injured, get well fast. And to the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America. Thank you very much. It's a very important thing to say. And we mean it.
For much of the remaining speech, Trump spoke with and praised guests, such as pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau, and promoted his policies as president.
For further reading, Snopes has previously fact-checked numerous claims attributing quotes to Trump and members of his administration, including those referencing his posts on Truth Social.