At a rally in Iowa this week, President Donald Trump delivered yet another story of devoted supporters moved to tears in his presence — but critics say he has crossed into the realm of the absurd. The 79-year-old recounted a particularly dramatic incident involving a woman who allegedly grabbed him and wept, leaving makeup smeared across his suit, prompting widespread ridicule from those questioning whether it ever took place.
Speaking at an event in Clive on Tuesday, Trump painted a touching picture of his supporters' emotional devotion. 'I just left a great group of people from Iowa, and half of them were crying as they talked to me,' he said. 'I don't think they're crying because I'm doing a bad job. You know, in theory, you cry if you do a bad job — they were crying because I've done a good job.'
The president went on to recount the encounters in more detail, claiming supporters had told him, 'Sir, you've brought our country back.' He described them as 'crying, crying' — a phrase he repeated for emphasis. The centrepiece of his narrative was a woman he described as 'fantastic' who allegedly lost control of her emotions while meeting him.
Trump: I just left a great group of people from Iowa. Half of them were crying as they talked to me. I don't think they were crying because I am doing a bad job. They said, sir, you have brought our country back, crying…
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 27, 2026
One woman grabbed me and her tears are pouring all over… pic.twitter.com/8SOb0QeDgU
Trump's Tearful Tale Fails to Convince
'She grabbed me, and she put her head right there, and her tears are pouring all over my beautiful suit,' Trump continued, pausing for effect. 'I figured, I get it, and I checked it out, and there was a lot of makeup all over. I said, "What the hell am I gonna do? Get myself in trouble!"' According to Trump, he then counselled the woman to control herself: 'She was crying, and I said, "Don't cry. Be happy. Be happy."'
The story, however, left many observers deeply sceptical. Several critics pointed out that if such a dramatic scene had truly unfolded, it should have been captured on video — after all, nearly every supporter at a Trump rally carries a smartphone capable of recording. The presence of Secret Service agents also raised questions about how a stranger could have grabbed the president without intervention.
'Apparently a woman just grabbed the president and cried all over him, but nobody else saw it or got it on video, and the secret service just lets random people grab the president and cry on him,' one commenter wrote on social media. Another observed: 'HOW are these alleged emotional encounters NEVER caught on video...? Everyone has a phone!'
The Pattern of Made-Up Stories
What struck many observers as equally telling was the familiarity of the narrative structure itself. Trump's tale followed a well-worn template that his critics have dubbed the 'Sir' story —anecdotes that invariably feature supporters calling him by that honorific and breaking down in grateful tears.
'Another completely deranged made up "Sir" story with fictional crying people,' one social media user wrote. 'This is way beyond dementia.' Others noted a similar pattern: 'Whenever the story starts with "Sir" it's made up.'
This isn't the first time Trump has claimed to have witnessed such emotional scenes. In 2024, he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo: 'I have steel people that every time they see me, they start to cry. They hug me. They said, "You saved our industry."'
In 2023, he alleged that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis burst into tears while seeking his endorsement, claiming: 'He came over and he begged me, begged me for an endorsement... there were tears coming down from his eyes.' In another account from 2019, Trump described a man begging him to cut regulations, recalling: 'He was crying. He said, "Sir, you give me back my life and my property."'
The most striking example came in 2017, when Trump claimed to have moved farmers and ranchers to tears after signing an executive order—yet official White House video from the event showed no evidence of such tears whatsoever.
