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| - Though the story isn't demonstrably false, it does appear to be a variant of a decades-old urban legend about celebrities and good Samaritans. Trump and his staff have made contradictory statements about its veracity over the years, and it remains unsubstantiated.
A story about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump allegedly rewarding a stranger who fixed Trump's flat tire by paying off the man's mortgage has circulated for years.
Various versions of the story were posted on Facebook (archived) and X in 2024. In this variant (archived), Trump was allegedly helped by an Orthodox Jewish man:
(@FarriYossi / X)
That time an Orthodox Jewish man helped Donald Trump change a flat tire—and Trump thanked him by paying off his mortgage.
One day in the mid-90s, Donald Trump's car had a flat tire on the highway, and an Orthodox Jewish man named Rabbi Yisroel Shemtov, who was passing by, stopped to help.
Rabbi Shemtov reportedly changed the tire, allowing Trump and his driver to continue their journey. Grateful for the assistance, Trump asked how he could repay him. The rabbi, dedicated to his faith and community, requested only that Trump send flowers to his wife. However, Trump went a step further—he paid off the man's mortgage in full as a gesture of gratitude.
In another version (archived) posted on X, the good Samaritan is described as a Black man:
(@Ahurley2Hurley / X)
President Trump has never been racist. He had a flat tire, had on a suit. Black man came and offered to help him change the tire. Trump asked what can I do for you? He said my wife always wanted a bouquet of flowers. Trump sent the flowers with a note saying your mortgage is paid off. He's not a racist.
(@Thomas55G / X)
Trump's limo got a flat tire in west palm years ago about 1 am, a guy who was driving by was a tire guy stopped and changed his tire. Trump later that week paid off the guys mortgage on his house. Don't hear about that in the news.
Snopes first broke down this claim in 1998, after a version of the story appeared in a 1996 Forbes article. As we noted at the time, the same story has been told about other celebrities, including Henry Ford, Nat King Cole and Bill Gates, indicating that Trump may simply be the most recent guest star in an urban legend that's been passed around for many, many years with minor variations. For example, this version about Bill Gates made the internet rounds in 2000:
Apparently a couple returning home from a skiing trip in British Columbia spots a disabled car at the side of the road and a man in distress. Being good citizens they stop to help. The car has either a flat tire and the Good Samaritan fixes it quickly. The man was very grateful, but had no cash with him to reward them, so asked for their name and address so he could send them a little something. A week later the couple receives a call from their banker stating that their mortgage had been paid and $10,000 had been deposited in their account by a very grateful Bill Gates.
The purported stranger who fixed Trump's tire never came forward, and we've found no conclusive evidence that he ever existed — but there's also no concrete proof the story is false, and statements from Trump and his team contradict each other.
According to the Snopes archives, Trump claimed in a January 2005 episode of his television series, "The Apprentice," that the tale was true. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign team even repeated the claim in a news release, according to an archive kept by The American Presidency Project, which is hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara.
However, Trump used to pose as a publicist to brag about himself (archived) and has a longtime reputation for mendacity and self-aggrandizement that preceded his presidential campaigns.
Furthermore, back in 1997, just a year after the Forbes article, Trump's office told The Globe and Mail that the tale wasn't true (emphasis is ours):
The implausible story making the rounds at Toronto doughnut shops is that somebody's nephew's friend's cousin, Joe, was driving down Highway 401 in his pickup truck when he spotted a white stretch limousine, with its hood up, on the shoulder.
Joe, being a good samaritan, stopped to help. Within minutes, he got the limo running and a grateful driver asked for Joe's card so he could send him a little something.
"Nah," Joe said. "It was nothing. I was just trying to be helpful."
The driver insisted, so Joe gave him a card and forgot about it. A week later, he got a call from his bank informing him that his $160,000 mortgage had been paid off by Donald Trump, who was a passenger in the limo.
"We've heard the story," said an irritated-sounding assistant of Mr. Trump's at his New York office. "No, it isn't true."
There are stories about generosity from Trump that do hold up to scrutiny: A 2020 Snopes fact check notes, in fact, that in a post listing several "random acts of kindness" allegedly performed by Trump, the only one lacking credible evidence is the flat tire legend. Snopes also confirmed in 2015 that Trump flew a sick child from California to New York for medical treatment.
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