False Endorsements Claimed by Trump: Denzel Washington and More

President Donald Trump, despite having many high-profile backers, recently shared an endorsement that was proven false. In a Truth Social post on Sunday evening, Trump uploaded a screenshot from an X account known as Red Eagle Updates. This post inaccurately quoted Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington as praising Trump, stating: “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.”

The quote attributed to Washington was debunked previously. It continues a pattern where fabricated political statements are wrongly linked to Washington.

Fabricated Claim Origins

Snopes, a fact-checking website, reported on October 10th that there was no credible evidence to support that Washington ever uttered the words found in Trump’s post. No sources confirmed Washington’s praise for Trump.

Additionally, Federal Election Commission records revealed Washington contributed to Democratic candidates in the past, with $28,500 going to former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and $27,000 to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign when she ran against Trump.

The quote Trump shared has previously been misattributed to other celebrities, such as actor Matthew McConaughey and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, without evidence.

For clarification, Newsweek contacted Washington’s representatives at PMK Entertainment and the White House but received no immediate comment.

Recurring False Quotes

This incident is not the first involving false claims about Washington’s political support. In 2016, misleading reports said Washington backed Trump and spoke against Obama. Washington’s publicist, Alan Nierob, quickly branded the story “100 percent complete fabrication.” In 2018, another claim falsely accused Washington of referring to Obama as the “criminal-in-chief.” Fact-checkers found no evidence supporting this.

Further fabricated stories claimed Washington disassociated from the Democratic Party and jumped to Trump’s side. His publicist consistently denied these tales.

Other Spurious Endorsements

In August 2024, Trump’s Truth Social account posted about Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, endorsing him. The bank swiftly refuted the claim, confirming Dimon endorsed no one. Trump later told NBC News, “Somebody put it up. I don’t know.”

In a related occurrence, Trump’s account circulated AI-manipulated images suggesting singer Taylor Swift’s fans supported him. Later, in September, Swift publicly supported former Vice President Kamala Harris and criticized these false images.

Contact the editors at Newsweek on this storyline: Daniel Orton and Sam Wilson.