Did Carol Burnett and other celebrities say Donald Trump "has been abused and lied about since taking office" and "stood like a lion against a pack of jackals"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Burnett and the others ever said that about Trump. The claim was an example of so-called "Viet Spam" campaigns of nearly identical made-up clickbait stories, each featuring a different famous person, created to drive traffic to web pages based overseas, often in Vietnam. The fake stories are then picked up by social media accounts that are tricked into believing they are real.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on March 12, 2026. It said:
Carol Burnett has sparked strong reactions after voicing a perspective shared by many supporters of D.on.ald Tr.um.p. According to this viewpoint, T.rum.p has faced relentless criticism, accusations, and political opposition since the beginning of his time in national politics, yet his supporters believe he has remained determined and unbroken.Those who share this perspective argue that despite years of intense scrutiny and controversy, Tr.um.p continues to present himself as a leader standing firmly for the interests of his voters. They view his resilience as a sign of strength and unwavering commitment to the country.Critics, however, strongly disagree with this characterization, saying that the criticism directed at Trump reflects the normal process of democratic accountability and public debate.The discussion highlights the deep political divisions that continue to shape American public life. For supporters, Trump represents resistance against political elites and a voice for their concerns. For opponents, his leadership style and policies remain highly controversial.As public figures express opinions on these issues, the broader national conversation about leadership, accountability, and the future direction of the United States continues to unfold.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by News Story on Facebook.)
There is no evidence that Carol Burnett ever said that about Trump. Had she made such a statement, it would have been major news. Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo! News (archived here) and did not find any matching reports.
Posts attributing the identical quote to famous people purportedly making the statement follow the same template, but the name of the celebrity varies, as a search for the quote on Facebook shows.
Here is the list of some of the famous people with the quote attributed to them on Facebook as of publication date:
- Ricky Gervais
- George Strait
- Ice Cube
- Nick Shirley
- Katt Williams
- Paul McCartney
- Shad Khan
- Robert De Niro
- Mark Wahlberg
- Maurice Benard
- Courtney Hadwin
- Patti LaBelle
The Facebook page News Story had a transparency tab (archived here) that indicated it was run by at least two people from Cambodia, a country neighboring Vietnam:
(Image source: Transparency tab for Facebook page News Story)
The Vietnam connection is significant, since fact checkers, including Lead Stories, have identified a major source of AI-generated false stories coming from a single operation based in that Southeast Asian country.
The type of the claim, its copied-and-pasted language, and the way it spread fit the pattern of what Lead Stories has identified as "Viet Spam" -- social media campaigns to generate traffic for made-for-advertising pages (archived here) that rely on shocking headlines about celebrities coming from websites pretending to be news outlets. Lead Stories has published dozens of debunks highlighting the prevalence of such schemes on Facebook.
Lead Stories published a primer on how to identify these kinds of fake posts exported from Vietnam. It's titled "Prebunk: Beware Of Fake Fan Pages Spreading False Stories About Your Favorite Celebrities -- How To Spot 'Viet Spam'".
