In 1998, Donald Trump stated he would run as a Republican in a presidential marketing campaign as a result of they’re the “dumbest group of voters.”
For years, claims have unfold that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as soon as instructed Individuals journal in 1998 that Republicans are “the dumbest group of voters within the nation.” The alleged quote started to unfold on-line once more across the similar time because the 2024 U.S. presidential election, during which Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.
We discovered no proof Trump ever stated Republicans are “the dumbest group of voters,” or that the quote was revealed in a Individuals interview.
“If I had been to run, I might run as a Republican,” the purported 1998 Trump quote begins. “They’re the dumbest group of voters within the nation. They consider something on Fox Information. I might lie they usually’d nonetheless eat it up. I guess my numbers could be terrific.”
The quote was shared in November 2024 on social media platforms together with X, Facebook and Reddit. We additionally discovered the quote shared in earlier years, corresponding to on Imgur in 2023.
We beforehand wrote in regards to the quote in 2015 and 2020. Individuals beforehand confirmed to FactCheck.org that it had no document of getting revealed any such interview or alternate with Trump:
Individuals seemed into this exhaustively when it first surfaced again in Oct. [2015]. We combed by each Trump story in our archive. We could not discover something remotely like this quote — and no interview in any respect in 1998.
In 1998, Individuals coated Trump largely for his relationships along with his first and second wives, Ivana Trump and Marla Maples respectively.
Whereas there’s evidence Trump was occupied with politics in the course of the late ’90s, nothing we discovered proved he ever stated something about “dumb Republicans” to any respected publication — or throughout any media look, for that matter. He told Larry King in 1999 that he was a registered Republican whereas discussing his plans to type a presidential exploratory committee.
We have continued to cover the U.S. President-elect and claims that encompass him, like a satirical claim that pop star Taylor Swift stated she would boycott any states that voted for Trump in the course of the 2024 election.
Sources
Doherty, Erin. “Trump Wins New Hampshire Republican Major, AP Tasks.” Axios, Axios, 23 Jan. 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/01/24/trump-new-hampshire-primary-win-results-2024-election.
Emery, David. “Did Trump Say Nikki Haley Was ‘in Cost of Safety’ on Jan. 6?” Snopes, 20 Jan. 2024, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-nikki-haley-security-january-6/.
Farley, Robert. “Bogus Meme Targets Trump.” FactCheck.Org, Annenberg Public Coverage Heart, 25 Nov. 2015, https://www.factcheck.org/2015/11/bogus-meme-targets-trump/.
Farrell, Mary H.J. “The Trumps Head for Divorce Court docket.” Individuals, https://folks.com/archive/cover-story-the-trumps-head-for-divorce-court-vol-33-no-8/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.
LaCapria, Kim. “Did Trump Say Republicans Are the Dumbest Group of Voters?” Snopes, 16 Oct. 2015, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/republicans-dumbest-group-of-voters/.
Schneider, Karen. “The Donald Geese Out.” Individuals, https://folks.com/archive/cover-story-the-donald-ducks-out-vol-47-no-19/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.
Workers, Snopes. “Truth Test: Trump Did Not Name Republicans ‘The Dumbest Group of Voters.'” Snopes, 28 Might 2020, https://www.snopes.com/information/2020/05/28/trump-republicans-dumbest-group-of-voters/.
Transcript: Donald Trump Proclaims Plans to Kind Presidential Exploratory Committee – October 8, 1999. https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/tales/1999/10/08/trump.transcript/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2024.
