Fake McKee quote claims Governor slammed Trump at RIC graduation
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A fake quote attributed to Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee garnered so much attention on the internet, even elected officials started sharing it.
The image, which had no attribution, claimed that McKee told graduates at Rhode Island College they had an “obligation to fight the Trump agenda.”
McKee delivered remarks at the school’s commencement ceremony Saturday, but did not ever utter those words.
ABC6 News reviewed a video recording of the speech to verify that McKee did not say it.
In a since deleted social media post on ‘X’, the account for Rep. Marie Hopkins, a Republican from Warwick, reposted the fake quote, writing in part: “If [you] like the [president], or dislike the [president], doesn’t matter. We can all dislike @GovDanMcKee’s commencement speech. This speech isn’t a political forum.”
That post drew more than 40 comments and 100 likes before it was deleted, including responses from multiple other state representatives.
A spokesperson for elected Republicans in the Rhode Island House of Representatives declined to comment on Hopkins’ post.
Hopkins did make a later post, explaining that she deleted the original post.
Post deleted. Mckee administration denies statement, which is exactly what they did last time he got in trouble… at this point, RI voters will vote “anyone but McKee” I expect an interesting 2026 race.
— Representative Marie Hopkins (@MarieForRI) May 19, 2025
Olivia DaRocha, McKee’s press secretary, said in a statement:
“In the unedited recording of the actual speech the Governor gave at RIC, it is clear that he did not say the quote falsely attributed to him on social media. As a commonsense practice, anyone who is considering responding to questionable social media should check the accuracy of the content before posting. The Governor reminds the public to do their homework before being manipulated by someone intentionally spreading untruths.”
