Fact Check: Did Octavia Butler use 'Make America Great Again' in book years before Trump?

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim has circulated online for years that science fiction writer Octavia Butler published a book in 1998 about a future President who won an election from a campaign where he used the phrase 'Make America Great Again'.

Interestingly, it is a slogan that has now become synonymous with President Donald Trump. In early February, the claim resurfaced across social media. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.

Claim: Octavia Butler used 'make America great again' in book years before Trump

A Facebook user came up with a post that read, "Octavia Butler is one of my favorite authors. I had the privilege of meeting her several times. Her books, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, were unfortunately prophetic."

"This quote is from Parable of the Talents, which was published in 1998. The book is about a Christian Nationalist authoritarian president who ran with the slogan, make America great again and turns the country into a fascist hellscape. Butler died in 2006, before she could see how right she was," the post added.

Meanwhile, similar iterations of the claim appeared on different social media platforms, such as X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. 

An X user wrote, "In 1998, Octavia Butler warned that the US would enter into a 30-year period of chaos, starting around 2015, during which America would elect a christofascist president named 'Donner' who uses the slogan 'make America great again'."

Fact Check: True, the phrase was inspired by former President Ronald Reagan

The claims made in the online posts are true, as Octavia Butler did publish a book in which a newly elected President rallied people to his cause by promising them he would 'make America great again'.

Moreover, the phrase was inspired by former President Ronald Reagan, who used it while campaigning in 1980. The book, 'Parable of the Talents', was published in 1998. 

Meanwhile, a 2019 summary of 'Parable of the Talents' on Butler's website described the community of the main character's newly founded faith as providing 'refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to 'make America great again.'

Butler's personal notes described Jarrett, who became President during the events of 'Parable of the Talents', as "a Reagan, young, vigorous, and utterly unencumbered by conscience," as per Gerry Canavan, who wrote a biography of Butler.