No evidence Trump’s mother called him ‘an idiot with zero common sense’

Viral social media posts are spreading a questionable quote attributed to President Donald Trump’s mother.

The posts – like this one – show a black-and-white photograph of President Trump and his mother, Mary Anne Trump. The quote attributed to her reads:

"Yes, he’s an idiot with zero common sense, and no social skills, but he IS my son. I just hope he never goes into politics. He’d be a disaster."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Featured Fact-check

Viral image

stated on March 18, 2024 in a Facebook post

Image shows a Princess Kate “stunt double.”

This does not appear to be a legitimate quote from President Trump’s mother.

The post gives no details or citations as to when or where the statement was made, and a search of news archives turns up no trace of it. The quote cannot be found in any interviews or books and only appears to exist in the form of memes and social media posts. Other fact-checking websites have also been unable to locate the statement outside of social media.

Mary Anne Trump passed away in 2000, and if she had said such an inflammatory statement about her son, it would have likely come up in the news cycle during his 2016 presidential campaign. 

There is no credible evidence to suggest this quote is real. Pants on Fire!