Trump shared a tiger attack video on Truth Social Tuesday showing the final moments of William Chapman, the British man killed over the weekend after climbing into a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. He paired it with the caption “Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT.”
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Chapman was believed to be in his mid 20s and from High Wycombe, England. On Saturday, October 10, he climbed into the enclosure of Altai, a roughly 420 pound Amur tiger, at the park near Doncaster. Emergency services were called shortly after 1:30 p.m., and he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was publicly identified Tuesday.
The 41 second clip Trump posted appears to have been filmed by a bystander at the park. It shows the tiger biting at the back of Chapman’s neck, pulling him to the ground and pawing at his legs. The footage cuts off before his death. It matches witness accounts, including reports that the tiger grabbed the back of his shirt and that Chapman pointed at the animal as it pawed at him.
Before the attack, Chapman had posted his own video to Instagram from inside the enclosure. In it, he slowly approaches the big cat while breathing heavily.
Trump did not stop at one post. A minute after sharing the tiger attack video, he posted a compilation of big cats mauling people. It included an AI generated clip of a lion smashing through the glass of its enclosure to attack a zookeeper. An official White House account then reposted the Chapman video to X. Trump appeared to make the posts while traveling to Alaska, where he was scheduled to hold a rally in Wasilla.
The posts went up the same day Chapman’s family released a statement. They said he had suffered from significant mental illness and described him as a bright, warm and engaging young man.
The backlash came quickly. Lawyer and Trump critic Aaron Parnas called out the post, writing that Trump had just shared video of lions violently mauling humans. Rolling Stone pointed out that the tiger attack video went up while the country deals with sky high gas prices, the war with Iran and a cost of living crisis, with midterm elections approaching.
Police said Altai was not injured and remains in its enclosure, and that there is no wider risk to the public.
