President Donald Trump, despite having many high-profile supporters, recently shared a false endorsement. On a Sunday evening post on Truth Social, Trump posted a screenshot from an X account called Red Eagle Updates. The post quoted actor Denzel Washington as saying: “I’ve worked with a lot of people in my life, and I’ve never met anyone braver, smarter, or who cares more about America than Donald Trump. He’s a great friend and an even better president. I’m proud to be a steadfast supporter, and I’ll never apologize for it. God Bless America and our president.”
This quote had been debunked, showing a recurring pattern of fictitious political statements linked to Washington.
Did Washington Endorse Trump?
Trump shared the post two days after Snopes published a fact check debunking the quote. On October 10, Snopes reported no credible evidence suggesting Washington ever praised Trump, with those words or others.
Federal Election Commission records reveal Washington’s previous donations to Democratic candidates, including $28,500 to Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and $27,000 to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, during her race against Trump.
The same quote was falsely attributed to actor Matthew McConaughey and Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. No evidence supports that either made such statements about Trump.
Newsweek contacted Washington’s publicists at PMK Entertainment and the White House for comments but hasn’t received replies.
Shortly before sharing the debunked Washington quote, Trump’s account posted comments from conservative commentator Nick Sortor, who mentioned: “President Trump just DANCED off the stage in Tennessee after yet ANOTHER 2 HOUR speech,” and added, “And Democrats want you think he’s losing it.”
Previous False Quotes
Washington has been falsely linked to political claims before. In 2016, reports incorrectly suggested Washington had “backed Trump in the most epic way,” and that he criticized Obama. The story spread widely, but Washington’s publicist Alan Nierob told BBC News it was “100 percent complete fabrication.”
In 2018, fact-checkers disproved claims that Washington labeled Obama the “criminal-in-chief,” finding no evidence he had said so. Another false claim suggested that Washington expressed discontent with the Democratic Party’s “lies” and supported Trump. His publicist denied this, stating the post was fabricated without confirming Washington’s political stance.
This year, other stories falsely claimed Washington dismissed his Democratic Party card and praised Trump. These comments continue to be debunked by fact-checkers.
In August 2024, Trump’s Truth Social account shared another unsubstantiated post. It claimed JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon endorsed Trump. The bank denied this quickly, clarifying Dimon hadn’t endorsed anyone. Trump later remarked to NBC News: “Somebody put it up. I don’t know.” Around this time, Trump’s account shared AI-generated images suggesting Taylor Swift supporters backed him. In September, Swift endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris and cited the false images for her public support.