Claim: Video purportedly shows Donald Trump taking a peek into Xi Jinping’s private notebook.
Conclusion: The claim is false. The folder belonged to Donald Trump himself and has the US Presidential seal on it. Trump later picked up the same folder as he walked up to give a speech during the banquet.
Rating: False 
Several social media users have claimed that US President Donald Trump was caught peeking into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s notebook. Verified X user ‘mjfree’ shared such a post with the caption :”Trump was caught sneaking a peek at Xi Jinping’s private notebook during a Beijing banquet while Xi stepped away!!!” Attached to the post is a 26 second clip showing Trump at a formal state dinner briefly opening a black folder on the table. The post gained over 449,000 views and can be seen below –
🚨HOLY HELL!!!!
Trump was caught sneaking a peek at Xi Jinping’s private notebook during a Beijing banquet while Xi stepped away!!!
Pls share far & wide! pic.twitter.com/VmC8hNYhkY
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) May 15, 2026
Other users have shared similar claims that can be seen here and here
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found it to be false. The folder was carried by Donald Trump and featured the official US Presidential seal. He was later seen holding the same folder as he approached the podium to deliver his speech at the banquet.
Details:
We first searched for the full footage of this event to get a better angle and to understand what really happened. The White House has uploaded the full video on 14 May, 2026 which is titled “President Trump Participates in a State Banquet with the President of the People’s Republic of China”.
At the 2:27 timestamp in the below video, the black folder with an emblem is positioned to Trump’s immediate left and he opens it to check notes while Xi speaks. View a video/screenshot of this moment below –
Following this, at around 12:10 timestamp, Xi Jinping returns to the table and is greeted by Trump and a round of applause. At the 12:14 timestamp, we clearly see Trump picking up the same black folder and going to the podium with it. This alone proves that the folder belonged to him and it consists of his notes or material for his speech. View a screenshot of this moment below –
Next, we checked other angles to verify if the black folder carried by Trump contains the same emblem as before. The Associated Press has uploaded the full footage with a different angle where Trump can be seen holding the same folder.
View a screenshot of the moment at the 12:31 timestamp in the AP press video where the emblem on the back folder can clearly be seen –
DigitEYE India closely examined this and noticed that the folder bears an embossed U.S. Presidential Seal (American bald eagle emblem).
We learned that the Presidential Seal of the United States is used “as a symbol of the presidency itself” and “ also appears on the presidential flag.”
DigitEYE India searched for other videos where the seal is used and found that it appears on all podiums from where the US President delivers remarks. For instance, in this footage where Donald Trump delivers remarks on healthcare affordability, the seal can be seen on the podium. View a screenshot of this below –
Another instance of the Seal appearing alongside the Presidential flag is when Trump delivered remarks on Operation Epic Fury on March 2, 2026.
Therefore, he black folder with the US Presidential Seal clearly belongs to Trump and not Xi Jinping. Thus, the claim is false.
