Michael Jordan issues response after fake Trump endorsement goes viral

Michael Jordan has set the record straight after a viral post suggested the 61-year-old athlete had endorsed Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 US presidential election.

In a statement to The Independent, Jordan’s representatives strenuously denied that the basketball icon had endorsed either candidate leading up to this week’s election. “There is absolutely no truth to the claim that Michael Jordan has made an endorsement in the presidential election,” they said.

The post surfaced on X/Twitter on November 3, falsely claiming that Jordan has “become the latest to endorse Donald Trump for President.” The six-time NBA champion is notoriously private and rarely reveals his political allegiances.

The fake social media post came in the wake of current NBA star LeBron James endorsing Trump’s rival, Kamala Harris.

In a message posted to social media, the 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star wrote: “What are we even talking about here?? When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!”

The post also included a video featuring clips of racist remarks made by Trump and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, ending with the caption: “Hate takes us back.”

In 2020, Republican candidate Trump mocked James after he campaigned for President Joe Biden. At a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said he “felt badly” for James – who had just won his fourth NBA Championship – because Finals ratings were considerably down.

He added: “I didn’t watch one shot. I get bored.”

The crowd then erupted into chants of “LeBron James sucks,” to which Trump responded: “What a crowd!”

At the time, James said he had no interest in a social media war with the then-president. “I don’t go back and forth with anybody. And I damn sure won’t go back and forth with that guy,” he told the New York Times.

The NBA star is the latest in a string of celebrities who’ve endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee. Most recently, Madonna and Friends alum Jennifer Aniston both revealed their picks for president, with the latter calling a vote for Harris a “vote for sanity and human decency.”

Terminator star and former Republican California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger shocked some fans when he revealed he’ll be casting his ballot for the Democratic vice president.

Meanwhile, actor Leonardo DiCaprio explained he’ll be voting for Harris because Republican nominee Donald Trump “continues to deny the facts” and “deny the science” around climate change.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway and lifestyle guru Martha Stewart have also revealed they’ll be voting for Harris on election day, November 5.

They joined Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston, who publicly endorsed Harris at a Democratic campaign rally in Arizona, and the likes of Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen.

Trump, meanwhile, can count on the support of Mel Gibson, Zachary Levi, Jake Paul, and Dennis Quaid.