A viral image shared on X purports to show a TRUTH Social post from 2024 Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump claiming he used to play football with O.J. Simpson.
— RS Archer (@archer_rs) August 22, 2024
Verdict: False
The purported post does not appear on Trump’s TRUTH Social account, and there is no other evidence suggesting Trump made the remark.
Fact Check:
Trump has sparred with 2024 Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris over whether or not their microphones should be muted during a Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC News, according to Axios. Trump appeared to suggest he might back out of the debate during an Aug. 26 stop in Virginia, NBC News reported.
The X image, viewed over 100,000 times as of writing, purports to show a TRUTH Social post from Trump claiming he used to play football with Simpson. “The great O.J. Simpson used to play football with me. Not many people know that because I don’t like to boast. He could never outrun me, though – have you ever seen blisters on my feet? No blisters,” the post begins.
“He used to say: ‘Sir, you are a great runner, probably the best there has ever been. Also thank you, sir, for playing ball with a black man.’ He had tears in his eyes that day,” the post continues. (RELATED: Viral Threads Post Attributes False Quote About Cereal Prices, Grocery ID To Trump)
The claim is false. Check Your Fact reviewed Trump’s TRUTH Social account and did not find the purported post about Simpson. Likewise, the remark neither appears on Trump’s website nor his verified social media accounts.
In addition, Check Your Fact did not find any credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On August 23, Logically Facts reported the claim was false. Reuters also debunked the claim in April 2024 when it first circulated online.
Simpson died of cancer back in April 2024 at age 76, according to The New York Times. The football player and actor was acquitted in a 1995 trial that accused him of murdering his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald L. Goldman, the outlet reported. Simpson was later found liable for the deaths of his former wife and her friend in a 1997 civil suit, also according to the outlet.
Furthermore, Check Your Fact looked into the claim that Trump played football, and according to a 2018 article from TMZ, the former Republican president said he played football “at a very low level” during his high school years.
Check Your Fact has contacted a Trump spokesperson for comment.