Fact Check: Posts Allege Trump Wrote 'I'm Just as Innocent' as O.J. Simpson. Here's the Truth
Claim:
After O.J. Simpson’s death, former U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, "Just like your favorite President, ME, he was accused of horrible things. He said he didn't do those things and I am just as innocent as him!"
Rating:
In early April 2024, a number of videos on TikTok and posts on X claimed to show former U.S. President Donald Trump posting about the death of O.J. Simpson on his social media site, Truth Social. The post purportedly showed Trump praising Simpson as "a good man" with "razor sharp" wit and a "killer smile" and said Trump was "just as innocent as him." Simpson, who died of cancer in April, was a former NFL player who had been acquitted in 1995 of charges he killed his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The full "post" had a number of spelling and grammatical errors, which are reflected below:
We lost a terrific man who had razor sharp whit and a killer smile today. And he liked ME, so you know he was a good man. Just like your favorite President, ME, he was accused of horrible things. He said he didn't do those things and I am just as innocent as him! Rest in piece OJ!
Many online shared screenshots of the purported Truth Social post:
(X user @Gmosher54)
We were unable to find evidence of Trump ever making such a post on Truth Social. If Trump had made such a post, it would have been covered widely by verified news organizations because of the controversial subject matter. Given that there is no substantial proof of a post ever existing, aside from screenshots without a direct link to the source, we rate this claim as "False."
The image is a screenshot that makes a number of references to Simpson's history, including the phrases "razor sharp" and "killer smile," suggesting that it was made as an off-color joke, given that the victims were fatally stabbed. While Trump has been criticized for making many controversial remarks in the past, the last sentence in the post is a jab at Trump himself, making it unlikely that he wrote it: "I am just as innocent as him."
Trump has made spelling and grammatical errors in social media posts before, but the high number of mistakes in this purported post also indicates it could be intended to poke fun at Trump.
There is no available link to the original post, which also raises suspicion. Using Google's reverse-image search tool, we could not trace the post to any reliable source or Trump's verified Truth Social profile. His profile has no such post about Simpson. Even if it were a deleted post, there is no way to confirm the veracity of the post without the original link to it.
We put together a number of guides on how to identify suspicious screenshots and rumors, which you can find here.
Sources:
Bernstein, Jacob. "O.J. Simpson and the Kardashians." The New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/style/oj-simpson-kardashians.html. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Evon, Dan. "Snopes Tips: A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches." Snopes, 22 Mar. 2022, https://www.snopes.com//articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Ibrahim, Nur. "Real Footage of Oprah's Audience Reacting to O.J. Simpson's Acquittal?" Snopes, 12 Apr. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/oprah-winfrey-oj-simpson-verdict/. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Ibrahim, Nur. "Red Flags: How to Identify Suspicious Rumors." Snopes, 28 Mar. 2022, https://www.snopes.com//articles/401830/red-flags-suspicious-rumors/. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Marzo, Marina di. "How Often Does Trump Misspell Words on Twitter? These Researchers Have an Answer | CNN Business." CNN, 4 Nov. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/03/media/trump-twitter-typos/index.html. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Sullivan, Kate. "Trump's Anti-Immigrant Comments Draw Rebuke | CNN Politics." CNN, 6 Oct. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/06/politics/trump-anti-immigrant-comments/index.html. Accessed 17 April 2024.
