Fact Check

Donald Trump: 'You Have to Be Wealthy in Order to Be Great'

A quote from the Republican presidential candidate about the role of money is real, but has been shared without context.

Published May 27, 2016

Claim:
Donald Trump said, "you have to be wealthy in order to be great."
What's True

Donald Trump said that you "have to be wealthy in order to be great" during a speech in North Dakota on 26 May 2016.

What's False

Donald Trump was talking about making America great again and was not referring to individual greatness.

On 26 May 2016, a sound bite from a speech Donald Trump gave in North Dakota was inserted into a video, then made its way around the internet with the hashtag #GreaterThanTrump.  The sound bite was a quote from Trump saying, "You have to be wealthy in order to be great":

While it's true that Donald Trump said this, the video does not feature the Republican presidential candidate's full quote, which turned up in a campaign speech in which he was talking about (among other things) the importance of keeping the United States wealthy:

There's one more thing we have to do to make America wealthy again. And you have to be wealthy to be great, I'm sorry to say it.

Trump said that, as President, he would add wealth to the country, and pledged to end what he called a "stealth tax" on energy.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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