Tom Hanks Endorses Donald Trump-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Tom Hanks has endorsed Donald Trump for president.
The Truth:
Tom Hanks said that America “could withstand” a Donald Trump presidency — but the actor did not endorse Trump.
Rumors that Hanks had rallied his support behind Trump started with an article that appeared at Conservative 101, a website that publishes fake news articles with a right-wing slant.
The story, which appeared under the headline, “Tom Hanks Backs Donald Trump, Destroys Hollywood Libs Who Criticize Him with These 9 Heroic Words,” reports:
How much do you love Tom Hanks? This abundantly talented, deeply charming actor has been thrilling audiences and moving them to tears for more than three decades now. He’s earned the trust of Americans as a decent, grounded person with a great deal of humanity and common sense. In the snake pit that is Hollywood and the liberal media, he is a beacon of decency.
So it will likely not surprise you to learn which candidate Hanks plans to vote for in November: Republican nominee Donald Trump.
After being published on July 29th, the story quickly spread across social media. The story was especially effective in deceiving people because it included a quote that Hanks actually made about Trump to CBS News back in April:
“America’s going to be fine. We’re the greatest, most resilient nation in the history of, of civilized, in all of civilization. We’ve worked ourselves out of holes many, many times over and over again.”
Taken out of context, Hanks appeared to endorse Trump with the quote. But Hanks’ was simply saying that he believed America could survive a Trump presidency, the Hollywood Reporter reports:
“We’re the greatest, most resilient nation in all of civilization,” the Oscar-winning actor said Thursday on CBS This Morning. “We’ll be fine.”
When the 59-year-old Hanks stopped by the studio to promote his latest film, A Hologram for the King, he was asked about the 2016 election thus far and his thoughts on Trump in the White House.
“We’ve worked ourselves out of holes many, many times over and over again,” Hanks said.
When asked if that meant he thought Trump would be harmful to the nation, Hanks responded, “I have no powers of clairvoyance like you geniuses in the news media.”
“I’m not saying he’s going to be president of the United States,” Hanks added. “I’m going to say that we’re going to have the most hilarious September, October and first week of November in a very long, long time. And you [media] people are going to be exhausted.”
Tom Hanks was even clearer about his feelings on Donald Tump and his presidential prospects at a movie premier in England, Vulture reports:
“Here’s the problem: America’s already great, so I don’t know what he is talking about,” Hanks said at the London premiere of A Hologram for the King on Monday. “I think that man will be president of the United States right about the time spaceships come down filled with dinosaurs in red capes.”