No, Donald Trump Never Said He’s An Atheist

There's a completely debunked fake meme been going around since 2016 claiming Trump told Phil Donahue that he is an atheist. The quote is bogus.

Wikiquote lists the statement “I have a really high IQ, Phil, I mean, c’mon. It’s impossible for me to not be Atheist” as a misattribution. Donald Trump has never been on the record telling anyone that he is an atheist. To the contrary, he has talked about being a Christian over and over through the years.

Politifact rates this meme as Pants On Fire false.

Snopes notes: “We found no evidence that Trump uttered this phrase, and no evidence that he even appeared on The Phil Donahue Show in 1989.”

The interview never happened. Trump is a lifelong Christian - a nasty toxic Christian.

The photograph in the meme is from Oprah Winfrey’s show, not Phil Donahue’s.

Donahue interviewed Trump in 1987, not 1989.

The transcript of that interview in 1987 does not contain the statement attributed to Donald Trump in this meme.

Donald Trump never told Phil Donahue, or anyone else, that he is an atheist.

Why does this fake meme matter? It's been created by people who are trying to blame Donald Trump's cruel fascism on atheists.

It's Christian voters who put Trump in office. Atheists voted AGAINST Trump by more than a 3-1 margin. This meme is cynical Christian propaganda. Don't buy into it.

Facts matter.

Donald Trump is a confirmed lifelong Christian. The fact that Trump is a Christian doesn’t mean he’s a good person. It means he’s a nasty, toxic Christian.

Christians need to own that truth and take responsibility for it, instead of making up fake memes.