Michael Jordan responds after fake Trump endorsements go viral

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

In a statement about it The IndependentJordan's representatives strenuously denied that the basketball icon had endorsed either candidate in the run-up to this week's election. “The claim that Michael Jordan endorsed the presidential election is absolutely untrue,” they said.

The post appeared on X/Twitter on November 3 and falsely claimed that Jordan was “the last person to support Donald Trump for president.” The six-time NBA champion is notoriously private and rarely reveals his political loyalties.

The fake social media post came after current NBA star LeBron James endorsed Trump's rival Kamala Harris.

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

The post also included a video with clips of racist comments from Trump and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and ended with the caption: “Hate is taking 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 bad” for James – who had just won his fourth NBA championship – because ratings for the Finals had dropped significantly.

He added: “I didn’t look at a single shot. I’m getting bored.”

The crowd then erupted in 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 anyone. And I'm definitely not going back and forth with this guy,” he told the New York Times.

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The NBA star is the latest in a string of celebrities who have endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate. Most recently Madonna and Friends Graduate Jennifer Aniston both announced her choice for president, with the latter calling a vote for Harris a “vote for reason and human decency.”

Terminator Star and former Republican governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger shocked some fans when he announced he would cast his vote for Democratic vice president.

Meanwhile, actor Leonardo DiCaprio said he would vote for Harris because Republican candidate 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 announced that they will be voting for Harris on Election Day, November 5th.

They joined breaking Bad Actor Bryan Cranston, who publicly supported 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.