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| - Norris said these words during an interview at a rally for Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2014. Social media accounts shared a shortened version of a longer remark.
In March 2026, a rumor circulated online that martial arts actor Chuck Norris once said, "I used to be a Democrat, but unfortunately the Democrats went too far to the left … and lost all reality of what America stood for." People shared the alleged quote in the days before, and hours after, news media outlets reported the "Walker, Texas Ranger" star's March 19 death.
For example, on March 16, a Facebook user posted (archived) an image meme displaying the quote. The user added, "When longtime voices start walking away, people notice. The shift is real. Do you think the party has changed too much?"
(Facebook user Colin Wayne)
Other examples of the claim appeared on Facebook (archived), Reddit, TikTok and X (archived). Numerous X posts from past months featured a video showing Norris answering an interviewer's question.
In short, the quote was correctly attributed to Norris, who truly said the words in 2014. The quote, originating from the same video interview users shared, captured the essence of a longer statement.
Johnny Vasquez, a manager of the Open Word News YouTube channel — a colleague of Omar Rodriguez, the person who interviewed Norris — provided more information about the day they spoke to the star. Those details, and Norris' full remarks, appear below.
The full Chuck Norris quote about Democrats
On Oct. 31, 2014, a user managing the Open Word News YouTube channel uploaded the original video with the title "Chuck Norris Explains Why He's a Republican and Exposes the Modern Democrats."
Vasquez told us by email he recorded the video while Rodriguez conducted the interview. The interview took place at a taco restaurant in Edinburg, Texas, during a rally for Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Vasquez did not recall whether the event took place the same day he uploaded the video.
In the video, Rodriguez asks Norris, "Question for you, good sir. Why are you a conservative, sir?" In response, Norris and Rodriguez, as well as Norris' wife, Gena O'Kelley, discussed the subject (emphasis ours):
NORRIS: Well, I used to be a Democrat. But unfortunately, the Democrats went too far to the left and the Republicans moved into their position that the Democrats were 40 years ago. And so what the Democrats believed 40 years ago, the Republicans believe today, and so I realized that I had to go to a Republican because the Democrats just got too far off the trail. They just got completely off the trail and lost all reality of what America stood for, and so I realized that Republicans at this point in time are more focused on what is best for America than what the Democrats are.
RODRIGUEZ: Actually our our pastor agrees with you, he says that he is technically a classical liberal which basically means he's what is today a conservative.
NORRIS: Yeah, right, well, President Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy today would be a Republican, because then, Democrats were more what the Republicans were today, and unfortunately they lost their way, they lost their way, and so, now we're Republicans.
RODRIGUEZ: If it makes you feel better, I found my way, I lost it in 2008 and I voted for Obama so [inaudible]. I have to tell him the truth (speaking to colleague), you know, but I found my way through the error of …
NORRIS: Well, you know, the thing is if Obama would have fulfilled his promises then he would have become one of the best presidents we ever had, but I was afraid when he was saying all this that it was not going to happen and that was what I was fearful of, is that him saying that he's going to keep everything transparent where, and C-SPAN would see all the bills and everything that was needed to be done, he did not fill one promise and so, you know, it's sad.
O'KELLEY: But it's going to be young people like you that keep our America great.
NORRIS: Yeah, it's people like you that's going to change this around for us in this country.
For further reading, we previously investigated a rumor in which users alleged Norris resigned as an "honorary scoutmaster" for Boy Scouts of America, saying, "I'm not sure what they represent anymore."
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