Sylvester Stallone spent Thanksgiving in the company of Donald Trump at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, video footage shows.
Days after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris at the presidential election in early November, Hollywood actor Stallone, who did not publicly endorse a candidate this year, was pictured at members’ club Mar-a-Lago.
On November 14, the Rocky star also attended an America First Policy Institute gala hosted at Trump’s property, where he called the incoming president the “second George Washington” and a “mythical character.”
Two weeks later, as Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, Stallone was seen chatting with billionaire businessman Elon Musk as the two stood with Trump. In the seconds-long footage originally shared on TikTok, Trump was seen speaking to guests seated at a table while Stallone and Musk conversed.
The footage was shared on X, formerly Twitter, along with the caption: “Elon Musk, Donald Trump and Sylvester Stallone at the Thanksgiving dinner in [Mar-a-Lago] today.”
The post caught the attention of Musk, who acquired X in October 2022 before making sweeping changes to the platform, including a name change.
Commenting on the clip, Musk mentioned one of Stallone’s classic movies, writing: “I was telling @TheSlyStallone that I just watched Demolition Man again and how well it predicted the crazy woke future 30 years ago!”
As of press time, the post has garnered more than 16 million views. Newsweek has contacted a representative of Stallone via email for comment.
Back in April 2021, Stallone denied reports that he had become a member at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, which the onetime property mogul has owned since 1985.
Sharing a headline reporting that he had joined the members’ club on his Instagram account, the Tulsa King star wrote: “I would like to say to everyone that this never happened. This is just not true. It NEVER ever happened.. I mean no disrespect to anyone, I’m simply not a member .. So Keep Punching Folks.”
Stallone didn’t publicly endorse Trump as he campaigned for the presidency in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 election cycles. Stallone did, however, tell Variety in January 2016 that he liked Trump personally.
“I love Donald Trump,” he said at the time. “He’s a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold [Schwarzenegger], Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I don’t know how that translates to running the world.”
In May 2018, Trump welcomed Stallone, along with boxers Lennox Lewis and Deontay Wilder, to the Oval Office to pardon boxing great Jack Johnson. Stallone originally lobbied Trump on the late Johnson’s behalf a month prior to the pardon.
While he backed late Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential run, the Rambo star told Variety in July 2019 that he did not identify as a Republican, did not vote in 2016, and would not be voting in 2020.
“I didn’t vote for anybody. I didn’t like anybody to tell you the truth,” he said more than a year before Trump would face then Vice President Joe Biden at the polls. “I want the best person to win and I’m sitting back on this one… Even though everyone assumes I am so hardcore right, it’s not true.”
“I won’t go to fundraisers, I don’t do anything,” he added. “I’m just an old filmmaker.”
Weeks after the 2016 election, in which Trump emerged the victor over Hillary Clinton, it was reported that Stallone was under consideration for a role in Trump’s administration as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
“I am incredibly flattered to have been suggested to be involved with the National Endowment of the Arts,” Stallone responded in a statement. “However, I believe I could be more effective by bringing national attention to returning military personnel in an effort to find gainful employment, suitable housing and financial assistance these heroes respectfully deserve.”
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