Sylvester Stallone has described US president-elect Donald Trump as the ‘second George Washington.’
While introducing the Republican Party leader at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday, the Rocky actor praised Trump’s win over Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris in the election earlier this month.
The 78-year-old also compared the politician to Washington, the Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797.
‘I’ll just say this – and I mean it,’ he began. ‘When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was going to change the world.
‘Because without him, you could imagine what the world would look like. Guess what? We got the second George Washington. Congratulations!’
Elsewhere, Stallone likened Trump to his iconic character, Rocky Balboa, from the boxing film franchise.
To emphasise the point, he recalled the opening frame in the 1976 movie, which pans out from a painting of Jesus Christ to Rocky being hit in the gym.
‘At that moment, he was a chosen person and that’s how I began the journey – something was gonna happen, this man was gonna go through a metamorphosis and change lives, just like President Trump,’ the 78-year-old continued.
‘We’re in the presence of a really mythical character. I love mythology. And this individual does not exist on this planet.
‘Nobody in the world could have pulled off what he pulled off, so I’m in awe.’
Following the introduction, Trump walked onto the stage and shared a long-held handshake with Stallone.
Previously, the Tulsa King star has remained quiet about his political affiliations.
In a 2016 interview with Variety, he revealed that he ‘loves’ Trump and considers him to be a ‘great Dickensian character.’
‘There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I don’t know how that translates to running the world,’ he added.
In the same year, Trump reportedly asked him to be responsible for managing an agency which gives out funding to artists and creative projects in his administration.
In 2021, the Expendables actor denied being a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club but confirmed he had been invited there.
A statement obtained by the PA news agency at the time read: ‘Sylvester Stallone has never been and is not now a member of Mar-a-Lago as has been falsely reported.
‘He was an invited dinner guest at the Club but is not himself a member there.’
A statement in The Hollywood Reporter added: ‘He did not join the organisation, he did not pay initiation dues.’