What to Know
Boxer and influencer Jake Paul doesn’t have any formal political experience and is not currently running for office, but President Donald Trump has endorsed him, for some reason. Paul, 29, joined Trump at a rally in Kentucky on March 11. The two men both praised each other, with Trump saying that Paul “has guts,” and Paul saying that Trump taught him to “never back down from a fight.” Um, OK.
Trump then went on to suggest that Paul should run for office even though he is an influencer and a boxer (who has also been accused of sexual assault). Qualifications do not appear to matter in Trump’s world, but we already knew that. Still, this “endorsement” of sorts seemed like a new low to a lot of people on social media.
People almost couldn’t believe it.
Donald Trump endorses Jake Paul for political office. pic.twitter.com/zxwArqRkiI
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 11, 2026
At first, Trump’s endorsement seemed hilarious…until people remembered that he was being totally serious. Some people on social media were really hoping that videos of Trump endorsing Paul were AI-generated, but nope, this actually happened.
“He’s a great guy,” Trump said at the rally. “He’s a courageous guy, and a hell of a fighter too, by the way. And I just want to say, I predict — I’m going to make a prediction — that you will be, in the not too distant future, running for political office.”
Trump then added, “And you have my complete and total endorsement…He’s an incredible guy.” But why, exactly? Because of vibes? On X, one critic asked what we were all thinking: “wtf does Jake Paul know about politics?” And another critic wrote, “Seriously questioning Trump’s criteria for endorsing someone for political office…”
The endorsement sparked a ton of backlash (and a sense of hopelessness).
I understand that many Americans want to elect outsiders to break with the political elites and the oligarchy. But the YouTuber Jake Paul? Lots of great minds in the US, Jake Paul is not one of them. pic.twitter.com/8iC7KVW2PM
— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) March 13, 2026
Because what is even going on? “We’re so doomed omg,” one person wrote on X. Someone else said, “So the political pipeline is now: YouTube → Boxing → Congress?” And several critics were hoping that this was a joke, or a nightmare that they would wake up from. “plz say sike we cannot continue like this,” someone wrote. “we’ve become the world’s biggest joke.” But it gets worse.
After the rally, Paul and Trump danced together and Paul posted a video of it on TikTok.
@jakepaul Amazing day and interview coming with DJT @President Donald J Trump ♬ original sound – Jake Paul
Trump has already been criticized for dancing happily at his rally in the midst of a war that he started. So, the video of him awkwardly dancing with the influencer also disgusted a lot of people. “This is so embarrassing,” one person commented. And someone else wrote, “Nothing to dance or smile about right now.” The video did, however, appear to be popular among those who still support Trump. Some of them actually claimed that they like Paul more now.
At the rally, Paul told the crowd that they have “swag.”
Jake Paul gets on stage at the Trump rally and has the nastiest pit stains I've ever seen
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2026
(it also appears the crowd doesn't know who he is) pic.twitter.com/3Yc071tZzf
“What Mr. Trump has taught me is courage,” he said. “We never back down from a fight, even if they’re much bigger than you, much, much bigger than you. I feel all the local Kentuckians feel the same way. You guys have that fight. You guys have that swag.”
READ NEXT: Donald Trump Criticized For Wearing Hat From His Own Merch Shop At Dignified Transfer
