The History Of Mike Tyson And Donald Trump's Unlikely Relationship

Donald Trump wasn't the "Baddest Man on the Planet" during his 2016 presidential campaign, but he was branded some of the baddest things in the world. He was called "a race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot" and a "proud sexual predator" and compared to an aspiring dictator. Perhaps worst of all in the world of civility politics, he was uncivil. Whether you believe all, none, or some of those assertions, it certainly made supporting Trump publicly controversial at best. Mike Tyson, however, seemed more than happy to tip his hat to the head of the MAGA movement. 

During an October 2015 HuffPost Live interview, Tyson declared that Trump "should be president of the United States." When asked if Trump had his vote, he gave an enthusiastic "yeah, hell yeah! Big time." He argued that the American people were sick of business as usual and suggested, "Let's run America like a business, where no colors matter. Whoever can do the job, gets the job." 

But his support ran deeper than politics. In March 2016, he said he could relate to the "hate" being shown toward Trump, remarking, "Now he knows what it's like when everybody is out to get you" (via The New York Post). In a 2019 interview, Tyson said he didn't like all of Trump's actions as president, "but I like Donald Trump." He added that despite his sexual assault conviction, Trump didn't disrespect him or reject his endorsement and only had "beautiful things" to say about Tyson.