Epstein files in the viral White House trash bag? Trump says...

A video showing something being thrown out of an upper-floor window at the White House has gone viral on social media.

The clip sparked a flood of conspiracy theories about what might have been thrown out in such a strange way.

It seemed to have been filmed from the rooftop of Hotel Washington or another nearby building.

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On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump broke his silence on the rumours and revealed what could be behind the viral video.

But what exactly did the video show? What theories spread online? And what was Trump’s response?

Here are the answers:

What was the video about?

The video showed what looked like a black plastic bag being thrown out of a second-floor window at the White House, the floor where Trump’s private residence is located.

It was unclear what the objects were or why they were being tossed out in this manner.

The clip went viral on social media on Monday, with many people making jokes about the president as speculation grew over his health.

How did netizens react?

The video led many users online to share their own theories and comments.

Since the White House did not immediately provide any explanation, speculation only grew. The clip being shared did not include details of when it was filmed, adding to the confusion.

With no clarity, the sight of a bag being thrown out of one of the most secure homes in the world quickly turned into material for memes, jokes and wild guesses.

Some social media users suggested the bag could have contained construction waste from ongoing renovation work, pointing to common contractor practices.

“Contractors often throw construction debris out the window rather than carry it downstairs. It may be that a room is being remodelled and furnishings such as carpet, drapery, etc. are being tossed out to be carried to a dumpster,” one user suggested.

Others took a conspiratorial route, joking about “classified documents” or even “Epstein files” being disposed of.

“Boy those Epstein files took up a lot of bags when they were shredded…,” one user wrote, while another added, “Probably just the very best handling of classified documents”.

Some even speculated about Melania Trump leaving the residence or renovations in the Lincoln Bedroom.

Melania, however, was not believed to be at the White House that weekend, as she has been spending most of her time in New York with her son Barron, who has started at New York University.

One person posted on X, “Flags at half staff, people tossing loaded garbage bags out of windows, what’s happening at the White House?”

These rumours came at a time when Trump had also been photographed with bruises on both hands, which the White House said were from him shaking “thousands” of hands.

What did Trump say? How does his response differ from White House’s?

Trump tried to end the speculation by suggesting the viral clip might have been created using AI, calling it “a little bit scary” how real such videos can appear.

“That’s probably AI-generated,” Trump told a reporter in the Oval Office.

“Actually you can’t open the windows. You know why? They’re all heavily armoured and bulletproof,” the president said.

“I know every window up there. The last place I’d be doing it is that, because there’s cameras all over the place, right, including yours.”

He added that his wife, Melania, had recently mentioned the lack of fresh air in their residence.

“She said, ‘I’d love to have a little fresh air come in.’ But you can’t. They’re bulletproof, number one. They’re sealed. And number two, each window weighs about 600 pounds. You have to be pretty strong to open them up,” Trump said.

When Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy showed him the clip on his phone, someone from Trump’s team suggested the window may have been opened for renovation work in the Lincoln Bedroom’s bathroom.

Trump, however, rejected that explanation and stuck to his AI theory.

“Yeah, those windows are sealed. Those windows are all, they’re all sealed. You can’t open them,” he said.

“One of the problems we have with AI, it’s both good and bad. If something happens really bad, just blame AI. But also they create things. You know, it works both ways. If something happens that’s really bad, maybe I’ll have to just blame AI,” Trump added.

In contrast, the White House press office confirmed on Monday that the video was genuine, The New York Times reported.

It said it was only “a contractor who was doing regular maintenance while the president was gone.”

Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and chief science officer at deepfake detection firm GetReal, told CNN that there was no sign the clip was AI-generated or altered.

“We do not detect any digital watermarks that are sometimes inserted at the point of AI-generation. The shadows in the scene, including the shadow cast by the tossed bag, are all physically consistent,” he said.