Fact check: Letter from state lawmaker defending Trump misattributed to Clint Eastwood
The claim: Actor Clint Eastwood authored a pro-Trump post
A widely shared post circulating on social media claims actor and director Clint Eastwood is the author of a lengthy post that praises President Donald Trump.
“I love when people call Trump Stupid,” the post begins. “You mean the multi-billionaire who kicked every Democrats butt, buried 16 career Republican politicians and continues to make fools out of once reputable news organizations...You mean the guy who won the presidency? You mean the guy with the supermodel wife? You mean the guy whose words alone put a massive slow down on illegal border crossings?”
The post concludes with, “See the spirit of Trump supporting and freedom loving Americans and just imagine where we could be as a country if everyone had the same priorities.”
Other users shared similar versions of the post, some sharing the statement along with a photo of Eastwood.
USA TODAY reached out to the users for comment.
Fact check: False claim that Trump wearing neural stimulator device in resurfaced photo from 2016
Text is a 2019 letter from state lawmaker
New Hampshire state Rep. Fred Doucette, who was also the chair of Trump’s 2016 campaign in the state, wrote a letter to local news outlet Eagle-Tribune where he defended Trump.
Doucette’s letter starts off exactly as the viral post does.
“I love it when people call President Donald Trump stupid,” Doucette wrote. “"You mean the multi-billionaire who kicked every Democrat’s butt, buried 16 career Republican politicians, and continues to make fools out of once reputable news organizations?"
The misattribution to Eastwood likely started after Doucette shared his letter on Facebook in 2019, accompanied by a photo of Eastwood and a purported quote by him.
The Massachusetts Republican Party also shared Doucette’s letter and a photo of Eastwood on its Facebook page.
Fact check: Claims that Hunter Biden received $3.5M from Russia are unproven, lack context
Eastwood on Trump
While Eastwood has previously held political office and is known as a Hollywood conservative, there is no evidence he wrote the letter.
In 1986, Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California. He decided to run for mayor due to conflicts with the City Council, according to BBC.
Eastwood also made an appearance at the Republican National Convention in 2012 to endorse then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
However, in February, the legendary actor-director expressed support for former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg as president.
Eastwood told the Wall Street Journal that while he approved of “certain things that Trump’s done” he wanted to see Trump behave “in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names. I would personally like for him to not bring himself to that level.”
Other fact-checking sites also previously debunked the claim in January when it first appeared.
Fact check: Quote attributed to Joe Biden about antifa is missing context
Our ruling: False
The claim that Clint Eastwood is the author behind the viral "I love when people call Trump stupid" post is FALSE, based on our research. An almost identical version of the text is from a letter to the editor to a local paper from a New Hampshire state representative. There is no evidence Eastwood wrote the post.
Our fact-check sources:
The Eagle-Tribune, Sept. 30, 2019, Letter: Don’t be brainwashed by what the Democrats tell you
Fred Doucette, Sept. 22, 2019, Facebook post
Massachusetts Republican Party, Nov. 24, 2019, Facebook post
The Washington Post, Aug. 4, 2016, Clint Eastwood explains — and regrets — his speech to an empty chair
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 21, A Hollywood Legend Talks Politics
Politifact, Jan. 2, State lawmaker’s pro-Trump letter wrongly attributed to Clint Eastwood
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Clint Eastwood did not author pro-Trump social media post