During a speech introducing Donald Trump at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at the Mar-A-Lago Club this evening in Palm Beach, Florida, Sylvester Stallone called the newly elected president “the 2nd George Washington.”

“We are in the presence of a real mythical character,” he said, as captured in a C-SPAN video posted on X. (You can watch it below.) “I love mythology. And this individual does not exist on this planet. No one in the world could have done what he did, so I’m impressed.”

He continued, with the out-of-left-field comparison: “When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea he would change the world. Because without him you could imagine what the world would be like. Guess what? We have the second George Washington.”

Earlier during the brief introduction, the Rocky writer-actor compared Trump to the title boxer in the film series, reminiscent of the opening frame in the original film, which extends from a photo of Jesus to Rocky being hit. (You can watch it below.) “At that point, he was a chosen one and that’s how I started the journey – something was going to happen, this man was going to have a transformation and change lives, just like President Trump.”

When Trump walked onto the stage after a brief delay (as heard during the intermission of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”), the two shared a warm and long handshake.

Stallone had previously remained tight-lipped about his political endorsements during the 2016, 2020 and this year election cycles, after revealing he had not voted in the presidential elections the previous two times. But he said that before Variety in 2016 that he “loves” Trump and considers him a “great Dickensian character.” In 2018, Sly was pictured sitting next to Trump in the Oval Office as he posthumously pardoned former world champion boxer Jack Johnson.

The annual gala supports the right-wing nonprofit think tank founded in 2021 to promote Trump’s public policies.

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