President Donald Trump is known for having several high-profile supporters, but one recent endorsement he shared turned out to be false. On a Sunday evening post on Truth Social, Trump shared a screenshot from the X account, Red Eagle Updates. The post included a quote allegedly from Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington stating support for Trump, calling him brave and intelligent. The message suggested Washington was a steadfast supporter of Trump, ending with, ‘God Bless America and our president.’
However, this quote has been debunked. Snopes published a fact-check two days before Trump shared his post. They found no evidence Washington ever made such statements. Searches of credible sources provided no proof that Washington praised Trump with those words or anything similar. Furthermore, Federal Election Commission records reveal Washington previously donated to Democratic candidates. This included $28,500 to President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and $27,000 to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
The same fabricated quote has been linked to actor Matthew McConaughey and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, though no evidence exists that they made these comments. Newsweek reached out to Washington’s publicists at PMK Entertainment and the White House for comments, but there has been no response.
Past False Quotes
This is not the first instance of false claims regarding Washington’s supposed political support. Back in 2016, reports falsely suggested Washington supported Trump and criticized Obama. That story circulated widely, but Washington’s publicist, Alan Nierob, confirmed to BBC News that it was entirely fabricated.
In 2018, another false claim suggested Washington had called Obama the ‘criminal-in-chief.’ This was also debunked, as there was no evidence to support it. Additionally, stories emerged hinting Washington had lost faith in the Democratic Party, implying he now backs Trump. Even in these cases, Washington’s publicist labeled the claims as complete fabrications.
False rumors continued into this year, alleging Washington tore up his Democratic Party card and praised Trump. Fact-checks once again debunked these claims.
Trump’s Truth Social account has encountered similar issues with unfounded endorsements. In August 2024, the account shared a post claiming JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon endorsed Trump for president. The bank quickly denied it, and a spokesperson stated Dimon had not endorsed anyone. Trump later commented to NBC News that ‘somebody put it up’ but he was unaware of it. Similar situations arose when Trump’s account circulated AI-generated images suggesting Taylor Swift’s supporters backed Trump. This use of false imagery led Swift to publicly endorse former Vice President Kamala Harris.
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