Did Denzel Washington say he's 'never met anyone braver, smarter' than Trump?

Claim: Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington said, "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." For at least several months, people have attributed a quote to Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington in which he allegedly praised and pledged support for U.S. President Donald Trump. Snopes received website searches from readers looking for more information about the quote, which read as follows: 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. Searches for Washington and Trump located users posting the rumor in quote memes, for example on Facebook, Threads (archived) and X (archived). (Redline News via Facebook) Some users' comments indicated they believed Washington truly spoke out in favor of Trump, while others expressed skepticism that the actor would say such a thing. In sum, an extensive search for credible evidence turned up nothing at all, indicating Washington never said this. Also, we previously reported as similarly untrue that fellow Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey and musician Mick Jagger uttered the words after people reposted memes attributing the exact same quote to them. As such, we rate this claim as an incorrect attribution. Snopes emailed a representative for Washington for confirmation and will update this article if we receive further information. Digging into the rumor We performed an initial search for Washington and Trump on Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo. Those searches failed to locate any credible sources reporting that Washington praised Trump, either in the words displayed in the meme or in any similar manner. Likewise, searches of the news media outlets ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, MS NOW, NBC News, Newsmax and NewsNation found no reporting that Washington spoke favorably of Trump. If any actor of Washington's prominence who had never publicly expressed such support in the past were to say the words attributed to them in the meme, national and international outlets covering entertainment and politics would have widely reported it. We found no such reporting. We reported in 2016 that, despite another rumor, Washington did not publicly announce his support for Trump. We also fact-checked a false rumor alleging the actor said that electing Trump saved the U.S. from becoming an "Orwellian police state." People who create and repost misinformation often exploit the names of actors known for portraying tough, "he tells it like it is" leading men in movies, for example Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Washington and others, to boost the credibility of their fabricated claims.