Fact-checking: Did Donald Trump really call Republicans the 'dumbest group of voters'?

With only two months left to election day, the fight between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is certainly heating up. Both candidates have been going on rallies, trying to convince key swing states on why they should vote for them in November.

In the run up to the election, all anyone can talk about is the two candidates. But unlike Harris, Trump was dominating headlines even before he officially announced he was running for President. Whether it was because of the number of allegations and lawsuits against him, or his rather provocative statements.

One in specific always makes rounds on the internet, and it has been proven to be false.

A quote from Donald Trump has been circulating since 2015

If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they’d still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific.

This statement by the real estate mogul is said to date back to 1998 and was published in People Magazine. Since 2015, this quote has been shared repeatedly on social media and many believe that it actually came from the former President. However, it is far from the truth.

People Magazine searched its archives

In 2018, People itself published a statement on this issue. Employees of the magazine searched the archive for this quote and announced that there had been no interview at all in 1998. Independent fact-checkers also found no evidence for this quote. The first reports about this date back to 2015.

This statement would have been timely, as he was already talking about possibly running for office one day in the 1990s.

Despite media and fact-checkers clarifying that Trump did not in fact call Republicans 'the dumbest group of voters', the statement can still be found from time to time today.

It would still be conceivable

Unfortunately the former POTUS, who will soon be going face-to-face with Kamala Harris for the presidential debate, is known for making striking statements, and hence for many it is easy to believe that he could have said something along these lines.

Moreover, his aggressive communication strategy has been questioned time and time again, even by his own allies and supporters. In August, Trump loyalist Lindsay Graham agreed with Nikki Haley that Trump should stop focusing on Harris' background, and warned him that he could lose the election if he continues to make personal attacks.

Most recently, he also revealed that his wife Melania, and a well-known pastor, requested him to stop using cuss words in his speeches.

This article has been translated from Gentside DE.

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Sources used:

Newsweek: Fact Check: Did Donald Trump Call Republicans 'Dumbest Voters' in U.S.?

CNN: That Trump quote calling Republicans 'the dumbest group of voters'? Fake!

PolitiFact: No, Donald Trump did not call Republican voters dumb in the 1990s

Reuters: Fact check: Trump did not call Republicans “the dumbest group of voters”