WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Republican leaders mourned professional wrestling giant Hulk Hogan after he died Thursday at the age of 71, heralding him as an “American icon” and praising him as a proud supporter of the president whose speech served as one of the more memorable moments at last year’s Republican National Convention in the days after Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania.
“We lost a great friend today, the ‘Hulkster,'” Trump, who first crossed paths with Hogan in the 1980s through his involvement with professional wrestling, wrote on social media. “Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart. He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week. He entertained fans from all over the World, and the cultural impact he had was massive. To his wife, Sky, and family, we give our warmest best wishes and love. Hulk Hogan will be greatly missed!”
Earlier in his public life, Hogan made headlines outside the ring for his testimony on steroid use in wreslting at the federal criminal trial of then-World Wrestling Federation’s chair, Vince McMahon, in 1994 and his lawsuit against the media outlet Gawker in the 2010s. But he largely avoided electoral politics until last year, when he gave a rambunctious speech on the RNC’s final day, tearing his shirt off as he named Trump his “hero” and explaining he decided to offer his vocal endorsement after the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt.
“What happened last week when they took a shot at my hero and they tried to kill the next president of the United States, enough was enough,” Hogan, whose given name was Terry Bollea, shouted in his signature cadence. “I said, ‘Let Trump-a-mania run wild, brother! Let Trump-a-mania rule again. Let Trump-a-mania make America great again.’”
Hogan later joined Trump at rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he defended his heavyweight title at the first Wrestlemania in 1985. At that rally, Hogan declared, “I don’t see no stinking Nazis in here” as Democrats were drawing the comparison to Trump’s rhetoric and policies. Many of the remembrances offered up by Republicans on Thursday recounted those moments as memorable points in Trump’s return to the White House.
“Hulk Hogan was a real American icon and I’ll never forget his speech in support of my father at the Republican National Convention,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote.
Vance and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis memorialized Hogan as a pop culture giant they grew up with and admired.
“Hulk Hogan was a great American icon,” Vance wrote. “One of the first people I ever truly admired as a kid. The last time I saw him we promised we’d get beers together next time we saw each other. The next time will have to be on the other side, my friend! Rest in peace.”
DeSantis and other Florida officials honored Hogan as one of their own.
“As a Floridian, as somebody who grew up in west central Florida, I was sad to see the news that Hulk Hogan passed away today,” DeSantis said at an event Thursday. “He was a major icon for anyone in Gen X, I can tell you, growing up then in the ’80s and ’90s. As a young kid, I’m growing up like, ‘Wow, that’s our superhero’ kind of deal. And the fact that he was from the Tampa Bay area, when I am growing up there, was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this guy lives in our area.’”
Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna counted Hogan among her constituents and posted a clip of his RNC speech, writing it was “an honor” to be his representative in the House and that, while the wrestler may be “gone … the legend of Hulkamania will run wild forever.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., posted pictures of himself and Trump with Hogan and said, “We all have fond memories of [Hogan]. From my childhood in the ‘80s, to campaigning with him last year, I always saw him as a giant in stature and in life. May he rest in peace.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., declared Hogan “a true American icon and a warrior for the MAGA movement.”