Fact Check: Did Trump buy Ed McMahon’s home to save him from foreclosure?
WASHINGTON, DC: A rumor has been circulating on social media platforms claiming that President Donald Trump bought the home of game show host Ed McMahon to save him from foreclosure. The claim has sparked speculation among online users, who are questioning its authenticity. Let us analyze and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Donald Trump brought Ed McMahon's house to save him from foreclosure
The claim surfaced after Trump posted on his Truth Social account that he purchased Ed McMahon's home in 2008, stopped its foreclosure, allowing the television personality and comedian to live there rent-free for the rest of his life.
The president shared a screenshot of the X post from the account MAGA__Patriot, which claimed that Trump had purchased McMahon’s Beverly Hills property after the TV star, faced foreclosure amid the 2008 financial crisis.
The viral post states, “Nobody did anything, except Trump. Who picked up the phone? Quietly. Without any camera invited. Without any press release. Without any announcement. He personally bought Ed McMahon’s property. And let him stay in his own home."
"For the rest of his life. No bill. No conditions. No expectation of anything back. Just a man who decided that an American legend should not spend his final years losing everything he worked for.”
Fact Check: Statements from McMahon's family contradict the claim
However, there is no evidence that Trump bought McMahon’s property or leased it back to him free of charge, as news reports and statements from McMahon’s representatives and family contradict the claim.
According to The New York Times, in 2008, McMahon was in debt and facing foreclosure on the home referenced in the post, having defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans.
Trump showed interest several times in buying the home and leasing it back to Ed McMahon, telling The Los Angeles Times in August 2008 that it “would be an honor” to help the TV personality.
A spokesperson for McMahon confirmed to CNBC and The Associated Press later that month that the deal was never completed, and the home was sold to another private buyer.
Trump’s spokesperson, Michael Cohen, told CNBC the real-estate mogul was still interested in purchasing the property when an initial offer fell through.
However, in 2018, McMahon’s daughter said on a podcast that Trump never followed through on either offer to buy the home.
“When dad was going to lose his house in Beverly Hills, Donald Trump said that he was going to buy it because he was such a big fan of dad’s and he didn’t want dad to lose the house,” Claudia McMahon told The Carson Podcast. “And of course that was a lie.”
