No evidence Donald Trump’s mother said he’d be a ‘disaster’ in politics

A quote critical of President Donald Trump, attributed to his late mother, Mary Anne Trump, is being shared on social media.

The supposed quote is: “Yes, he’s an idiot with zero common sense and no social skills, but he IS my son. I just hope he never gets into politics. He’d be a disaster.” Mrs Trump’s name appears underneath the quote, which is accompanied by a photo of the mother and son together, implying that it is referring to President Trump and not either of his brothers.

However, there’s no evidence Mrs Trump said the words attributed to her in the image. 

The posts don’t give a date on which the alleged quote was said, and doesn’t provide a source for it either. Mrs Trump died in 2000. Similar posts featuring the quote have been circulating since at least 2019. Like a number of other fact checking organisations, we’ve not been able to find any evidence that Mrs Trump actually said it. 

While we’ve not been able to find the original source of the photo, in a different picture of the mother and son taken at an event in Trump Tower, New York on 28 September 1991, Mrs Trump appears to be wearing the same earrings and coat, though she does have glasses on in this photo. 

In 2021, we debunked the same text circulating about the then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but attributed to his own mother. 

We’ve previously written about other quotes attributed to political or public figures despite there being no evidence. 

False or misleading claims online have the potential to harm individuals, groups and democratic processes and institutions. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct.