The truth behind Trump’s 13 ‘acts of kindness,’ from checks to cancer treatments

In September 2026, a Facebook post (archived) circulated online that listed 13 claimed “acts of kindness” that U.S. President Donald Trump purportedly carried out before running for office. 

The introduction to the post read:

For thirty years before he ran for office, Donald Trump quietly paid mortgages, flew sick children across the country, and wrote checks to strangers who needed help. You will not find those stories on the evening news. So here they are.

Start with what people who knew him before politics say. He has never had a drink. He has never smoked. He has never used drugs. He built his business on long hours, and the people who worked for him will tell you he outworked all of them. Nobody called him a bigot until the day he announced for president. That timing tells you something about the accusation.

Now to the record.

The claim about Trump’s reported acts of kindness spread on Facebook (archived, archived), X (archived) and Threads (archived). Snopes readers contacted us, asking if the claim was true.

Of the 13 reported acts of kindness in the Facebook post, nine were true, mostly true or probably true, two were false and one was unproven. One of the alleged acts was actually carried out by Lynne Patton, a long-time employee of the Eric Trump Foundation whom Trump later appointed to roles in both of his administrations.

Given the above, we rate this claim a mixture of true and false or unproven elements. Below, we investigate each claim in the post.

Annabel Hill’s farm: True

In 1986, a Georgia widow named Annabell Hill was about to lose the family farm at a foreclosure auction. Trump saw her story on the news, picked up the phone, called the auction, and stopped the sale. Then he sent her the money to keep the farm.

Snopes investigated this claim in September 2026 and found it to be true. According to reporting at the time, Hill’s farm had been up for auction twice. Her husband, Leonard D. Hill, died by suicide in February 1986 to try to save the farm using the payout from his life insurance. That sum did not cover the debts, and his widow faced a second auction that September.

That was reportedly when Trump stepped in, called the bank to block a foreclosure auction and started fundraising for Hill. The fundraising was successful, with Trump himself covering at least $39,000 of the $170,000 needed. Because of the fundraising efforts, Hill’s family was able to keep the farm.

A private plane for Andrew Ten: True

In 1988, an Orthodox Jewish family in Los Angeles had a three-year-old son named Andrew Ten who needed treatment in New York. The boy could not survive without a full life-support setup, and no airline would carry it. His father asked Trump for help. Trump put the family on his own jet and got them there.

Snopes previously investigated this claim in 2015 and found it to be true based on a report published by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 1988 that said Ten’s father had appealed to Trump for help transporting his ill son to access medical treatment in the New York area. 

The Times of Israel later reported that Ten died in 1998. In 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission fined Ten’s father, Harold Ten, in an alleged scheme to “profit from the imminent deaths of terminally ill patients in nursing homes and hospice care.”

Trump sent plane to fly Marines: False

In 1991, two hundred Marines came home from Desert Storm to Camp Lejeune and found out the military had no aircraft to fly them the rest of the way to Florida. Trump’s airline, the Trump Shuttle, made two runs between North Carolina and Miami and got every one of them back to their families.

Snopes previously investigated this claim in 2016 and found it false. Though some Marines did fly from Miami to North Carolina on a Trump-branded plane after Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Trump did not own Trump Shuttle or its planes at the time because he had defaulted on the loans he used to buy the fleet. Rather, the military chartered some of the planes that still bore the Trump logo to fly the Marines without involvement from Trump.

A flat tire and a mortgage payment: False

In 1995, a passing driver in New Jersey pulled over to help change a flat on Trump’s limo. Trump asked what he could do in return. The man only wanted flowers sent to his wife. A few weeks later, the story goes, the flowers came with a note saying the couple’s mortgage had been paid off. People have been repeating that one for three decades.

This claim is an urban legend that Snopes first debunked in 1998. It has also circulated using other celebrities’ names. According to an Aug. 15, 1997, report in the Toronto Globe and Mail, an assistant at Trump’s New York office told the paper the story “isn’t true.”

Mar-a-Lago welcomed Black people and Jews: True

In 1996, Trump sued the town of Palm Beach, Florida. The town had been leaning on his Mar-a-Lago club for one reason. He let in Jewish members and Black members, and the older clubs did not. Abraham Foxman, who ran the Anti-Defamation League at the time, said Trump shined a light on the ugly side of Palm Beach that the glitter usually hid. Foxman also said other clubs started admitting Jews and Blacks after Trump forced the issue.

Snopes investigated a similar claim in 2016, finding it true that Trump allowed Black people and Jews to access Mar-a-Lago while other clubs in Florida did not. The Wall Street Journal reported in 1997 that after Trump sued Palm Beach alleging discrimination against his club because it admitted Black and Jewish members, other clubs had started to admit Jewish patrons.

However, the WSJ reported in April 1997 that Palm Beach denied it was discriminating against Mar-a-Lago because of its membership and that restrictions imposed on the club were part of a zoning matter. The outcome of the lawsuit was unclear.

Ultimately, Trump’s decision to allow Jewish and Black members turned out to also benefit his business, helping him fight Palm Beach’s restrictions and also allowing him to attract a different crowd than existing clubs already catered to. 

According to the Wall Street Journal article, Foxman did speak the quote the Facebook post attributed to him, saying Trump “put the light on Palm Beach. Not on the beauty and the glitter, but on its seamier side of discrimination.”

Money for a girl with brittle bone disease: True

In 2000, Trump was watching Maury Povich and saw a little girl named Megan who lived with brittle bone disease. He said her attitude got to him. He called the show and sent her family a large check.

According to a recording of a Dec. 19, 2000, episode of “Maury,” the talk-show hosted by Povich, an 11-year-old girl named Megan and her mother received a check and video greeting from Trump.

The clip of the show Snopes viewed did not elaborate on Megan’s illness or the exact size of Trump’s check. During the clip, Trump called Megan “beautiful, inside and out” and told her to “keep up that attitude.”

Povich, when handing over Trump’s check to Megan, said Trump didn’t give out “chump change” and referenced “all those zeros” but did not say the exact amount.

In 2020, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Trump’s campaign shared a news release that highlighted several moments he reportedly supported Americans with disabilities. One of these highlights was about Megan and said she had brittle bone disease.

Jennifer Hudson stayed free at Trump hotel: Probably true

In 2008, Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother, and nephew were murdered in Chicago. Trump moved Hudson and her family into his Chicago hotel at no charge and had his security team watch over them while they grieved.

Snopes previously investigated this claim in 2016. E! Online reported on Oct. 31, 2008, that Hudson checked into the Trump International Hotel & Tower on Oct. 24, following the murder of her mother, brother and nephew by her former brother-in-law.

The outlet reported that Trump himself was paying for the stay, something Trump also told People magazine on Nov. 10. It was unclear how long Hudson stayed at Trump’s hotel.

Hudson has never publicly refuted Trump’s claim that he paid for her stay or named herself or anyone else other than Trump as having paid.

A check for bus driver who saved woman from suicide: True

In 2013, a Buffalo bus driver named Darnell Barton saw a woman standing at the edge of a bridge. He stopped the bus, walked over, put an arm around her, and talked her back to safety. Trump read about it and mailed Barton a check, because he thought a man like that deserved a reward.

Snopes found this claim to be true in 2016. A Buffalo radio station reported photos from a ceremony on Nov. 7, 2013, during which Barton received the $10,000 check (archived) that Trump had promised on social media after Barton’s Oct. 18 rescue of an apparently suicidal woman he spotted while driving his bus.

Money for a Marine arrested in Mexico: True

In 2014, Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi spent seven months in a Mexican prison after he took a wrong turn at the border with legally owned guns in his truck. President Obama never placed the call to Mexico that the sergeant’s family begged for. Trump sent Tahmooressi a check for $25,000 to help him rebuild his life once he got home.

Snopes previously investigated this claim in 2018. We found at the time that Tahmooressi was arrested after he crossed the Mexican border while carrying guns and ammunition that he legally owned in the U.S. — but wasn’t permitted to carry in Mexico — and was imprisoned for seven months. 

We could not substantiate his claims about abuse and mistreatment by Mexican authorities that also circulated at the time.

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs reported on Oct. 31, 2014, that Tahmooressi had been released from Mexican jail. Trump pledged (archived) on social media on Nov. 10, 2014, that he would send Tahmooressi a check for $25,000. We reported in 2016 that Trump made good on his promise the next day, writing to Tahmooressi:

You have served our country with fortitude and dignity, and we are fortunate to have someone like you as a brave Marine and protector of our wonderful nation. We are proud of you and I wish you and your family the very best for many years to come.

According to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and reporting by the Los Angeles Times, Republican and Democratic politicians alike had pushed for Tahmooressi’s release. Any involvement or lack thereof by then-President Barack Obama was unclear.

College money for beauty queen’s son: True

In 2016, Melissa Young stood at a Trump rally in Wisconsin and cried while she thanked him. She had competed as Miss Wisconsin USA in 2005, then got sick with an illness that has no cure. During her worst stretch, a handwritten note arrived from Trump calling her the bravest woman he knew. She said the doors Trump opened for her ended up giving her Mexican-American son a full ride to college.

During a Trump campaign rally in Janesville, Wisconsin, on March 29, 2016, Young told the then-candidate that his organizations, including the Miss USA pageant and the since-defunct crowdfunding platform FundAnything.com, had helped secure her Mexican-American son a full ride to college.

Young, who competed as Miss Wisconsin in the Miss USA pageant in 2005, said she suffered from an incurable illness and that at one point when she was in hospital, Trump sent her a handwritten letter addressed to the “bravest woman I know.”

In 2016, Snopes reported on Young’s story and the open letter to Trump she posted on Facebook (archived) in July 2015. That letter explained that Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley had started a fundraiser for Young’s son after attending the launch of FundAnything.com, which would allow him a full ride to college.

It was unclear whether Trump personally paid anything into Cooley’s fundraiser for Young’s son. (The claim does not say specifically that he did.)

Young posted (archived) on Facebook in August 2026 that her son would be a high school senior that coming school year.

Lynne Patton’s reply to claims Trump was racist: True

That same year, Lynne Patton, a Black executive at the Trump Organization, put out a video answering the people calling her boss a racist. She admitted she had fought addiction for years. She said the Trump family never pushed her out. They stood by her the whole way.

Patton, who was at the time the vice president of the Eric Trump Foundation, spoke at the July 20, 2016, Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Before she took the stage, a five-minute video essay played in which Patton criticized “repeated and reprehensible” attempts to “align my boss and his family with racist hate-mongering groups campaigns and messaging” (time code 0:14).

Patton called the Trump family, “one of the most generous, compassionate and philanthropic families I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing” (time code 0:39).

Patton’s video essay and following appearance did not include mention of addiction. This part of the claim may have come from her later media appearances. For example, in April 2025, Patton discussed her history with cocaine addiction with Lara Trump, Eric Trump’s wife, on Fox News. During that interview, Patton also talked about how the Trump family had supported her through her addiction.

After Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, he appointed Patton to a role in the Department of Housing and Urban Development overseeing a region covering New York and New Jersey. During his second administration, Trump appointed Patton as deputy assistant to the president and director of minority outreach.

Patton previously served a suspension from government work for a violation of the Hatch Act, which regulates the partisan political activities of federal employees, during her time at HUD.

Cancer treatment for campaign volunteer’s father: Mostly true

Also in 2016, a young Illinois volunteer named Shane Bouvet told reporters that Trump had stepped in to cover his father’s cancer treatment. His father, Donald Bouvet, beat the cancer. Trump has stayed in touch with the family ever since.

Trump met with Bouvet and his father, Donald, on Feb. 9, 2018. The president said he had first read about Shane Bouvet in The Washington Post ahead of his January 2017 inauguration.

The Post reported at the time that Bouvet was a Trump supporter and volunteer social media coordinator for the Trump campaign in Illinois. The article noted that Bouvet’s father had cancer and that Bouvet and his mother both faced layoffs and difficulties finding well-paid work.

Trump said in February 2018:

I said, “I’d like to meet him.” Nice young man, had a lot of difficulty. And I gave him some money for himself — $10,000. His father, Donald — good name — was suffering and really on a pretty final path toward losing his life with cancer. Shane took the $10,000, and, rather than spending it on himself, he gave it to his father.  And his father went to a very good cancer clinic or hospital because he was at hospitals before and they didn’t do so well.

Trump continued:

And they did a fantastic job, and Donald is now cancer-free. And I think it’s an incredible story where a son would give 100 percent of the money to his father, who he loves, obviously.

As such, though Bouvet ended up spending Trump’s money on cancer treatment for his father, Trump suggested that was not how he intended the money to be spent when he gave it to Bouvet. It was unclear whether Trump remained in contact with the Bouvet family at the time of this writing.

Loans to Black entrepreneurs: Unproven

And there is a story that has floated around New York business circles for years. A Black business owner could not get a loan anywhere in the city. Someone told him to go see Trump. Trump lent him the money and told him to pay it back when he could. The man came back later with a check and said the business was doing well. Trump tore the check up.

Snopes could not determine the source of this rumor. An oft-cited source was the Joe Brown, a former TV judge, who appeared on a podcast in 2019. When asked on the podcast whether Trump was a racist, Brown said (time code 1:07:43):

I don’t think so. I have talked to a number of Black entrepreneurs who, back in the late ’80s and ’90s were, early ’90s, were trying to get financing. They couldn’t. Somebody told them to go check with Donald Trump. So they come back and tell me they got a loan from Donald Trump. He gave him a term loan: Show up with the interest in the principal [unintelligible] but they had to go see him in person. They independently relayed this tale that when they saw him he said, “That’s what you’re supposed to pay me, this is our agreement?” say “Yeah,” and then tore the check up, shook their hands and “Congratulations, now run your business.”

We found no evidence that Trump, his campaign or individual business owners had ever publicly confirmed giving or receiving such loans. We attempted to contact Brown to ask if he could put us in contact with Black business owners who received loans from Trump in the early 1990s. We also contacted the Trump Organization to ask about the rumor. We await replies to our queries.

Snopes’ archives contributed to this report

Sources