Robert Redford once said of U.S. President Donald Trump: "It is painfully clear we have a president who degrades everything he touches, a person who does not understand (or care?) that his duty is to defend our democracy."
Some memes sharing this statement included additional quotes Redford made in separate opinion pieces.
On Sept. 16, 2025, actor, director and activist Robert Redford died in his sleep at age 89. As his fans mourned, many shared a purported quote in which Redford criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that he "degrades everything he touches."
Memes on Facebook with variations of the quote were shared thousands of times. According to one widely shared meme, Redford said:
(Occupy Democrats)
Redford did indeed write the above words, and as such, we rate this as a correct attribution. It should be noted, however, that the meme combines statements from three separate opinion pieces Redford wrote during Trump's first and second presidential terms.
The first section of the meme appeared in a January 2019 opinion piece Redford wrote for The Washington Post titled "Robert Redford: We must defend our democracy -- and not by impeachment" (emphasis ours):
The second sentence in the meme appeared in a November 2019 opinion piece he wrote for NBC News titled (archived) "Robert Redford: President Trump's dictator-like administration is attacking the values America holds dear" (emphasis ours):
Redford was referring to Trump's impeachment hearings after the president was accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine to dig up damaging information on Joe Biden, at that time the former vice president. Trump was impeached in December 2019 but acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.
The last sentence in the meme appeared in a September 2024 opinion (archived) piece for USA Today, in which Redford endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris, then the vice president, for president, primarily due to her approach to tackling climate change. Titled "Robert Redford: Climate change threatens our way of life. Harris knows this" Redford wrote (emphasis ours):
Redford was clearly critical of Trump. As an environmental activist, in 2017 he fought against the Trump administration's plan to approve the 2,100-acre Alton Coal Mine near Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
While Redford was known for his many acting roles, we have previously reported how much of the internet knows him as the "Nodding Meme" guy, which is an animated image of a seated bearded man nodding. The popular reaction gif was taken from a scene in the 1972 film "Jeremiah Johnson."
Barnes, Brookes. "Robert Redford, Screen Idol Turned Director and Activist, Dies at 89." The New York Times, 16 Sep. 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/movies/robert-redford-dead.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
Evon, Dan. "Is Robert Redford the 'Nodding Meme' Guy?" Snopes, 10 Jul. 2019, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/robert-redford-nodding-meme/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
Redford, Robert. "Opinion | Robert Redford: America Is in Crisis. It's Time to Rid Ourselves of Trump." NBC News, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/president-trump-s-dictator-administration-attacking-values-america-holds-dear-ncna1091156. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
Redford, Robert. "Opinion: Robert Redford: We Must Defend Our Democracy -- and Not by Impeachment." The Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-democracy-is-in-crisis-we-must-focus-on-2020--not-impeachment/2019/01/24/b51f1268-1ff6-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
Redford, Robert. "OPINION: Robert Redford: Climate Change Threatens Our Way of Life. Harris Knows This." USA TODAY, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2024/09/23/harris-climate-change-environment-election/75211422007/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
"Robert Redford: The Environmental Movement Has Lost a Giant." NRDC, 16 Sep. 2025, https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/robert-redford-environmental-movement-has-lost-giant. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
"Trump Impeachment: The Short, Medium and Long Story." BBC, 5 Feb. 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49800181. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.