Was Kurt Cobain’s Donald Trump quote actually real?

The Simpsons is known for its uncanny ability to predict the future. One of Matt Groening’s animated sitcom’s most audacious predictions that became a reality was the presidency of a certain Donald Trump. In 2000, the 17th episode of season 11, “Bart to the Future,” saw Lisa Simpson inherit the United States presidency from Trump (she’s heard telling her staff, “As you know, we’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump”). But did the iconic but long-deceased music legend Kurt Cobain predict the same thing first? A viral meme indeed suggests that’s the case.

Cobain was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and founding member of the legendary grunge band Nirvana. His legacy is that of a spokesman for Generation X, and he’s widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians ever. Tragically, Cobain passed away long before his time. In 1994, at the age of just 27, having attempted to overdose a month earlier, Cobain took his own life. He’s still sorely missed to this day.

In recent years, the aforementioned meme began circulating on social media. Sometimes bearing a picture of Cobain’s face, it suggests that, in 1993, the musician said, “In the end I believe my generation will surprise everyone. We already know that both political parties are playing both sides from the middle and we’ll elect a true outsider when we fully mature. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not a business tycoon who can’t be bought and who does what’s right for the people. Someone like Donald Trump as crazy as that sounds.”

Many people, usually Trump fans, have shared the meme with the quote on it, believing Cobain predicted that Trump would not only have become president (long before he set his beady eyes on the role) but also have the people of the United States’ interests at heart.

But what’s the truth behind the meme? Does it contain a genuine quote?

Did Kurt Cobain really predict Donald Trump would be president (and a good one at that)?

Per several highly reliable sources, such as Reuters and FactCheck.org, Kurt Cobain did not say the words in the viral meme. That’s unsurprising, given that no sources have ever been provided for the bogus quote, and the idea of Trump having the interests of other people at heart has always been laughable. He’s awful.

Moreover, one of Nirvana’s managers, Danny Goldberg, wrote an article for The Nation in 2018 and categorically rubbished the myth. The article’s subheadline reads, “The Nirvana front man did not predict Donald Trump—in fact, he would have hated the man.” Goldberg goes on to say in the piece, “As one of Nirvana’s managers when Kurt was alive, I know that the quote is not only made up but it is also a grotesque perversion of Kurt’s beliefs. He often differentiated Nirvana from more overtly political punk bands like Dead Kennedys and Fugazi, but Kurt was unambiguous about where his political sentiments lay and, although he identified with anarchist imagery in some contexts, Kurt had no problem making choices at election time.” Well, that puts a stop to all that nonsense.