Renowned Hollywood star and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone introduced President-elect Donald Trump at an America First Policy Institute gala hosted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday, comparing him to one of Stallone’s most enduring on-screen characters, Rocky Balboa.
In his introduction, the Rambo star described Trump as a “mythical character” and made a reference to the Oscar-winning film Rocky, which tells the story of the titular boxer’s underdog journey of perseverance and determination.
“When I did Rocky, if you remember, the first image was a picture of Jesus, and it says, ‘Resurrection A.C. Club.’ I found a church that had been converted to a boxing ring,” he said. “So the image pans down from Jesus onto Rocky being hit.”
“And in that moment he was a chosen person, and that’s how I began the journey—something was going to happen. This man was going to go through a metamorphosis and change lives, just like President Trump,” he added, per Newsweek.
Continuing, he said, “We are 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. And I’ll just say this, and I mean it: 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.”
He concluded: “Guess what? We got the second George Washington. Congratulations.”
