Trump shares a screenshot of Denzel Washington praising him. Then the Hollywood star’s reps respond: ‘Not real’

A quote said to come from Denzel Washington appeared in a screenshot that Donald Trump shared on Truth Social on Monday. The post showed words that called Trump a close friend and praised his work as president. Trump put the image up after seeing it that morning.

The full text in the screenshot stated, “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.” It went on to say, “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 screenshot sat next to a poll from the account Red Eagle Updates. That poll asked, “Do you agree with Denzel?” By the time reports came out, the post had drawn more than 15,000 likes along with thousands of reposts and comments.

Representatives for the actor reject the quote

Alan Nierob, president of PMK Entertainment, addressed the claim in an email to The Washington Post later on Monday. He wrote, “Not real.” He also said he had “No idea where it came from.”

Nierob added that he had no idea if Washington had ever met the president. Similar versions of the same quote have shown up online before. Snopes has noted that the words were previously linked by mistake to other well-known performers. The Washington Post reported that those earlier cases involved Matthew McConaughey and Mick Jagger. 

Trump has made dubious claims about celebrity support before. After Dolly Parton passed away, he said the legendary country musician had liked him, but there is no public record to substantiate that claim. 

Washington has usually stayed quiet about politics in public. He backed Barack Obama in the past and gave money to the 2008 campaign. He also attended the inauguration in January 2009. 

In a 2012 interview with GQ, Washington spoke about his own stance. He said, “I’m an independent. In some ways I’m liberal, and other ways I’m conservative.” He continued, “We get so locked in on ‘you have to be this or that.’ It’s ridiculous. I’m not a liberal or a conservative completely. Who is? Or why do you have to be? You assess the pros, the cons, of both sides and you make an intelligent decision.”