An unknown user created this fake Trump audio clip with artificial-intelligence (AI) technology.
A years-old, false online rumor claims former U.S. President Donald Trump once told People magazine in 1998 that Republicans are "the dumbest group of voters in the country."
The full quote read, "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'd bet my numbers would be terrific."
As we previously reported in 2015 and 2020, this quote usually appeared in memes. However, ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the rumor took on a new life.
On July 7, TikTok user @unclesmudge13 created a TikTok photo post purportedly featuring audio of Trump saying the full quote that appeared in memes. The post received around 500,000 views.
One user under the post remarked, "The most honest words he's ever spoken!!" Another person commented, "This should become viral!"
Other users mentioned artificial intelligence (AI). For example, a user posted, "And this was said way before AI." A different person also said, "Yeah that's not AI either. I heard that years ago way before they were even doing the AI thing." The @unclesmudge13 user replied to that person, "Exactly! I know I heard this on Howard Stern years ago and I think he said the same thing on Oprah."
However, the Trump audio clip featured in the TikTok photo post was fake. An unknown user created the fake sound with AI technology. Further, as our previous articles reported, we found no evidence Trump ever said Republicans are "the dumbest group of voters."
We contacted the TikTok account to ask where the user obtained the audio clip and will update this story if we receive a response.
For further information about this rumor, we recommend our January 2024 article, which featured a TikTok post displaying one of the old quote memes.