Legendary actor Sylvester Stallone likened President-elect Donald Trump to America’s Founding Fathers, dubbing him “the second George Washington” at a high-profile gathering on Thursday night.
The “Rocky” star introduced Trump at the America First Policy Conference celebration held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
He began by drawing a parallel between his character Rocky and Trump, stating that the film franchise’s aging boxing hero was “gonna go through a metamorphosis and change lives, just like President Trump.”
“We are in the presence of a truly mythical figure,” he said about the president-elect. “I love mythology and this individual does not exist on this planet.”
Sylvester Stallone (@theslystallone) introduces President-elect Trump at the @A1Policy Gala. pic.twitter.com/mZQNXrSxm8
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 15, 2024
“Nobody on earth could have pulled off what he pulled off. I am in awe,” he added about Trump’s astonishing comeback.
While the audience went wild, he wrapped up by comparing Trump to the nation’s first president.
“I’ll just say this and I mean it, when George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was gonna change the world because without him, you could imagine what the world would look like,” Stallone continued.
“Guess what? We got the second coming of George Washington,” the actor concluded. “Congratulations!”
With that, he delivered a stirring introduction to Trump, as Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” blasted throughout the venue.
The president-elect and “The Expendables” star shared a warm handshake before Trump’s speech.
“Wow, thank you, Sly! You know, Sly does not do that. He does not do that stuff but he did a beautiful job,” Trump said about the actor.
Trump directed his opening remarks towards Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, urging him to pass a bill that would enable an early start to his term.
“Things are happening to our country that we didn’t see happening for years,” he claimed, attributing these developments to his election victory. “Almost every single day we set new records in the stock market.”
“Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important maybe you should pass a bill. You have to start my term from November 5… because the market’s gone through the roof, enthusiasm has doubled,” he proposed.
He acknowledged to Johnson that nominating numerous members of Congress to significant positions might temporarily decrease his new majority. “I just like the people in Congress, Mike, I’m sorry!”
President-elect Trump announces North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum will be him nominee for Secretary of the Interior. pic.twitter.com/OxoZwXeTb0
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 15, 2024
During the event, Trump also announced that South Dakota Governor Doug Burgum would lead the Department of the Interior.
“He’s going to head the Department of the Interior, and it’s going to be fantastic,” Trump said about Burgum.
Robert F. Kennedy was also present at the bash, accompanied by his wife, actress Cheryl Hines.
“Another great mind and a great guy and he wants to make people healthy,” he said about the former presidential candidate.
“The Democrats didn’t treat him well. I guess, if you like health and you like people living a long time, he’s great,” Trump added.
“Today I nominated him for, I guess, if you like health and you like people that live a long time, it’s the most important position,” Trump continued, before jokingly cautioning, “Don’t get too popular, Bobby.”
“You know, you’ve reached about the level,” he added. “We want you to come up with things and ideas and what you’ve been talking about for a long time, and I think you’re going to do some unbelievable things. Nobody’s going to be able to do it like you, and boy does he feel it in his heart.”
President-elect Trump on Elon Musk: “He likes this place. I can’t get him out of here!…I’m asking him ‘what do you do best?’ and we were not able to figure it out.” pic.twitter.com/1r8jREg2oz
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 15, 2024
He also jested about his newfound camaraderie with tech mogul Elon Musk, who funded the pro-Trump America PAC.
“I believe in high IQs and his is as high as it can get. What a job he does,” he added. “He likes this place, I can’t get him out of here! He likes this place.”
Trump concluded the speech by celebrating his landslide win over Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I didn’t win it, the people won it,” he stated. “The great people of our country won the popular vote.”
“So we swept all swing states, we won the popular vote. Oh I love that,” Trump went on.
“You know in my first term, they said, “He won the election – he didn’t win the popular vote” – that’s what they say who even knows if it’s true or not,” he noted. “But we won the popular vote by records: no one can say that any more about us.”
Watch Trump’s full speech here: