Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 took oath as the 47th President of America. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Donald Trump and called him his friend. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended Trump's swearing-in ceremony on behalf of India. Jaishankar said that it is a great honour to represent India in attending the swearing-in ceremony of the US President. Multiple photos and videos of S Jaishankar also went viral in which he was standing in the front row. Many linked Jaishankar standing in the front row of Trump's swearing-in ceremony to India's 'soft power'.
However, on Tuesday evening, multiple videos went viral on X with the claims that the US authorities disrespected India's External Affairs Minister (EAM) and asked him to take a backseat rather than sit in the front row. A video is being widely shared in which an American woman was seen coming near the front row where Jaishankar was standing and talking to someone.
Sharing the video, a user wrote, "It’s truly shameful that the authorities demanded EAM S. Jaishankar’s removal from the show. As an Indian, I am deeply hurt and strongly condemn this act. The Indian government must take notice and appropriate action should be taken."
(PC: X)
Another user wrote, "What a shame! Authorities demanding S. Jaishankar to leave the show."
One more user wrote, "From the video I can makeout that Jaishankar was asked to take back seat but he ignored her. Why all these PR stunts by Modi I don't know.... karma."
Truth behind US security asking Jaishankar to take a back seat
If you watch the video closely, you will see the woman who went near the front row where Jaishankar was standing did not talk to India's External Affairs Minister. She was talking to another woman who was standing beside S Jaishankar. Also, multiple photos and videos have already been shared on X, even from S Jaishankar's official X handle in which he was seen standing in front row. If the security would have asked Jaishankar to go in the backside, Jaishankar's photos would not have seen in the front.
Furthermore, X (formerly Twitter) also added community guidelines on the viral video and marked them 'misinformative'. X outlined, "Misinformation! The security official was speaking to a camerawoman positioned near S. Jaishankar. The official appeared to be requesting or asking the camerawoman to reposition herself, likely asking to move behind or avoid blocking the view of others in the area."
Therefore, the claims that S Jaishankar was asked to take a back seat by US Security personnel is totally fake and shared with misleading intent.