"Ivan Drago was the good guy all along"— Netizens react as Sylvester Stallone calls Trump the second George Washington
Sylvester Stallone was among the guests at Donald Trump's election victory celebrations at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. Other attendees of the black-tie event were Trump's Cabinet picks RFK Jr., Elon Musk, and Matt Gaetz.
Stallone's introductory speech at the America First Policy Institute gala before welcoming Trump on the stage turned some heads online. The actor called Trump a "mythical character", praising the President-elect:
"Nobody could have pulled off what Trump did. So I’m in awe."
Stallone then referred to George Washington, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and its first President:
"When George Washington defended this country, he had no idea that he was going to change the world. Because without him, you can imagine what the world would look like."
Sylvester Stallone, added:
"Guess what? We got the second George Washington. Congratulations!"
As Stallone's speech made the rounds on social media, many shared their reactions, especially to the "George Washington" analogy. Several people expressed disappointment in finding out the Rocky star is a Trump supporter.
One X user @shaundead02 shared a GIF of Dolph Lundgren's Captain Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer who was Rocky Balboa's main rival in the fourth installment of the eponymous film. In an attempt to seemingly criticize Stallone, the X user wrote:
"Ivan Drago was the good guy all along! We must break Sylvester Stallone!"
X users also referred to Terminator fame Arnold Schwarzenegger, who endorsed Kamala Harris in the election.
"Sylvester Stallone calls Donald Trump the second George Washington. This made me sad…until I realized we have Arnold," one X user wrote.
"Perhaps Sly got hit in the head to many times in the movies",wrote one person.
"Typical MAGA moron is what he’ll be remembered as, “has been” must suck", said another.
On the other hand, several others praised Stallone for his support for Trump.
"Time to watch some Rocky and Rambo movies", wrote one person.
"Time for everyone from MAGA camp to watch the Tulsa King, Stallone is a hero!", another chimed in.
"I always preferred Stallone over Schwarzenegger", commented one X user.
Donald Trump's past competitiveness against Sylvester Stallone
As Sylvester Stallone welcomed Donald Trump on the stage following his speech, the president-elect and the actor shared an embrace. Stallone has reportedly been deemed a Republican since he supported John McCain in his 2008 presidential run. The actor spoke about Trump in a positive light as well.
In a Variety interview published on January 8, 2016, Stallone was asked about his thoughts on Trump running for presidency at the time. The actor said:
"I love Donald Trump. He’s a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I don’t know how that translates — to running the world."
However, Trump has not always been amicable in his attitude towards the Rocky star. Variety's editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh spoke about Trump's habit of viewing the world "through the lens of reality TV" in his 2024 bestseller Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass.
Setoodeh, who has interviewed Trump multiple times, claimed a recurrent topic in their conversations was Stallone. Mark Burnett produced reality TV series The Apprentice and The Contender around the same time. While Trump was hosting the first, Stallone hosted the latter. During that time, Trump reportedly kept telling others "Sylvester Stallone wasn’t as good at making TV".
Ramin Setoodeh wrote in his book, Trump kept up with his Sylvester Stallone obsession even after becoming the president in 2016, as he reportedly told the journalist:
"Sylvester Stallone wasn’t as good as me. Mark Burnett said I was better than Sylvester Stallone at being a reality star."
Elsewhere, in a 2019 tweet, Trump posted a doctored photo, where he superimposed his face on Rocky Balboa's body.
Despite his reported past jealousy, it appears that Trump has moved past his opinions, and now shares a cordial bond with Stallone.