Fact Check: Did Trump claim to have sparred with Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali? Viral Truth Social post debunked

On January 17, 2024, several individuals on X (formerly known as Twitter) uploaded a particular screenshot of a tweet reportedly written by former US President Donald Trump. The post appears to have been written on his social media network, Truth Social, using his official handle @realDonaldTrump.

According to the tweet, the former US president claimed to have sparred with Cassius Clay. This is the real name of professional heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali, who held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970. Muhammad Ali died in 2016.

The undated screenshot, which appeared on X and Facebook, starts by saying,

“The great Cassius Clay used to spar with me."

It further reads,

“Not many people know that because I don't like to boast. He could never hit me, though - have you ever seen bruises on my face? No bruises. He used to say: "Sir, you are a great dancer, probably the best there has ever been. Also, thank you, sir, for sparring with a black man." He had tears in his eyes that day."

However, according to Reuters, there is no corresponding recent post on the politician's Truth Social account. Hence, the post is clearly a fake one.

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Viral Truth Social post of Donald Trump claiming to have sparred with Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali is a fake one

The politician's recent Truth Social post is a hoax (Image via Facebook / Donald J. Trump / Muhammad Ali)

A fake photo of former US President's social media post claiming to have sparred with boxer Muhammad Ali is currently circulating all over the internet in the form of a screenshot. The screenshot accurately depicts a Truth Social post in which the former US President made the claim. In the image, Donald's message appears to read,

"The great Cassius Clay used to spar with me."

However, this is not an actual post from the politician's Truth Social account. According to Snopes, if the Republican leader for the 2024 presidential race had made any claim about dueling with Ali, the post would have been heavily covered by many prominent news outlets.

Furthermore, according to the same source, the fake photo could have come from the same individual or group of people who created another post claiming that Donald had marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. Both the fake screenshots could have come from the same parody account.

As per one user, who published the screenshot on X (previously known as Twitter),

“This was not long after trump invented the internet and wrote Beethovens 5th”.

Another person on Facebook shared the same screenshot with a caption that read,

“Good grief, the man is certifiably insane”.

Reuters reported that the earliest screenshot it has discovered was posted on January 17 by an X account that appears to post satires and parodies. The same source claims that, in the comments, the person stated that they made the image.

Furthermore, according to the aforementioned source, there is no related current post to Donald's Truth Social account, nor are there any archived posts from January 17 and 18. This is when the image began to spread widely online.

Moreover, the tweet does not appear on the 45th President's official website or on his spokesperson, Liz Harrington's, X (formerly known as Twitter) account, who frequently shares Trump's official news and information.

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Additionally, a representative of the former US president did not immediately respond to the Reuters request for comment. Therefore, both Reuters and Snopes have deemed the tweet false.