“BOOM” began a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump’s personal social network, shared by the president himself this week.
Illustrated with a picture of the actor Denzel Washington, it quotes the Oscar-winning actor 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 Americans 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.”
The post added: “Do you agree with Denzel? YES or NO?”
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It’s a curious quote from the Training Day star to have given that, unlike many Hollywood stars, he appears not to have spoken publicly before about his political leanings – and even more so when Federal Election Commission records show he has quietly made political contributions to a number of Democratic campaigns, including for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
And it is even more curious when you consider he is not the first celebrity to whom Trump supporters have attributed that entire 48-word quote, word-for-word. Earlier this year a graphic went viral across MAGA-supporting media attributing those very same words to ageing rocker Mick Jagger, who has previously objected to Trump using the Rolling Stones’ music at his rallies and isn’t even American anyway.
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And just this summer a report circulated online that the actor Matthew McConaughey had publicly praised Trump, calling him once again “a great friend and an even better president” and attacking the president’s critics. McConaughey has previously described himself as “aggressively centrist”.
In fact, it appears that nobody has ever said the words in question – but the quote, attributed to Washington, remains on the social media feed of the leader of the free world.
Presciently, Washington told the Sunday Times in an interview in 2024: “We’re all slaves to information now. We really are. We’re all slaves. So whatever you feel about the leaders, like this guy’s crazy or the other one is sane, you’d better realise you’re being manipulated by both sides. Period. So go to the movies.” Sage advice!
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