President Archives - The Rightists

From the moment he came down the escalator to announce his candidacy for the US presidency, Donald Trump became the object of much criticism among celebrities from around the world. Here are a few topics celebrities commented on and what a few of them said.

Coronavirus

Actress Debra Messing criticized Trump and his followers for Trump’s attitude toward the virus on Twitter, saying many would die, including Maga loyalists.

Actor, writer, and director Rob Reiner tweeted that Trump needed to be stopped from speaking publicly about the virus, then removed from office.

In a tweet, Trevor Noah said Trump “bumbled” his way through handling the virus.

Captain America star Chris Evans criticized Trump via tweet for not taking questions after a speaking event, asking for answers about Coronavirus from Trump and not VP Pence.

Mega-star entertainer Bette Midler criticized Trumps’ handling of information, suggesting he should not be believed about his test was negative because he lies about everything, according to her tweet.

Writer and comic Larry David said watching Trump speak daily on the virus turned him into a maniac who yells at the tv because of what Trump says.

Actor Don Cheadle criticized Trump’s “Chinese virus” label, suggesting Trump was trying to deflect attention from his response onto China.

Russia Collusion

During and after the Trump-Putin summit that took place after the Russian collusion story took hold, many celebrities had much to say. The criticism mostly centered on Trump’s open questioning of American intelligence concerning Russian interference in the election.

Actor/director Zack Braff tweeted “treason is trending” during the summit.

Actor Jeffrey Wright suggested the summit was a show, sarcastically asking Kim Jong-Un to join the charade.

Rob Reiner criticized Trump for meeting with Putin but refusing to meet with Robert Mueller, who was investigating the President’s alleged connection to Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Comedienne Chelsea Handler made homosexual/homophobic insinuations about the men’s relationship during the summit.

Bette Midler called Trump a traitor for not addressing Russian interference in the election with Putin. Actress Rosanna Arquette echoed that sentiment.

Actor Chris Meloni outrightly called Trump an agent of Putin.

Famed actress Mia Farrow stated that Trump’s “first allegiance is to Russia.”

Iconic actor Carl Reiner accused Trump of treason for “denigrating our… FBI… and praising Putin.”

Figure skater Adam Rippon called Trump “Putin’s puppet.”

Some politicians opined as well.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said by embracing Putin and questioning the FBI’s intelligence gathering, Trump “betrayed America’s institutions… and attacked our democracy.”

Senator Jeff Flake remarked on Trump standing with the Russian dictator while blaming the US for Russian aggression.

Representative Nancy Pelosi said Russia must have had blackmail material to make Trump behave the way he did.

A few celebrity television news channel personalities added their influential voices to the chorus.

MSNBC anchor Joy Reid remarked on Trump’s refusal to address Putin directly about Russia’s interference only to shift attention to Hillary Clinton.

CNN’s Lawrence O’Donnell noted Trump’s lack of anti-Putin bravery.

Repeat Offended

A few celebrities had long-standing feuds with President Trump across many issues along the timeline.

Model Chrissy Teigen took umbrage at President Trump’s description of her as John Legend’s “filthy-mouthed wife,” using profanity to describe the fact that Trump didn’t tag her on his Twitter attack.

The feud between Donald Trump and comic turned daytime talk show host-turned co-host of ABC’s The View Rosie O’Donnell goes back years to O’Donnell’s characterization of Trump as a snake-oil salesman and flared up as soon as Trump announced his candidacy. Commenting on it more than once, O’Donnell still holds that it is Trump who will not let the feud end.

Second, only to O’Donnell is Robert DeNiro. DeNiro began by insulting Trump personally as a candidate then moved into attacking his policies, even stating his belief that Trump would engineer a third term for himself

Sharon Bennett

Sharon took a course in political science. She is very active on debates and forums in which discusses issues and its solutions.

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Election Season 2016

Ruth Bader Ginsberg was nominated to the highest court in the nation by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993. Donald Trump was a reality TV show star and real estate figure, with a worldwide string of hotels.

During the election season, when Ginsberg was asked about then-candidate Trump, she responded: “I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president … For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.” [The New York Times, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg, no fan of Donald Trump, critiques latest term,” July 10, 2016.] A few days later she doubled down on her comments and went even further, calling him a ‘faker’, expressing disbelief that he had not released his tax returns, and saying “he really has an ego.” [CNN]

Candidate Trump then commented on her comments in a New York Times interview, saying, “I think it’s highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly … I think it’s a disgrace to the court and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it… That she should be saying that? It’s so beneath the court for her to be making statements like that. It only energizes my base even more. And I would hope that she would get off the court as soon as possible.” He then followed up his comments with a tweet calling on her to resign.

On her part, Ginsberg then released a statement expressing regret and acknowledging the importance of apolitical behavior for justices, and said, “In the future, I will be more circumspect.”

Indeed, it is historically unusual for a Supreme Court justice to give a personal opinion on any political candidate or process.

The Trump Presidency and Replacement Debate

President Trump took office in January of 2017, at which time Justice Ginsberg had been serving for 23 years. After the election, things between the President and the Justice were relatively quiet. Ginsberg had several trips to the hospital and her health began declining, spurring a debate about the Constitutionality of when and with whom to replace her, were she to pass away before the end of President Trump’s term.

When Justice Ginsberg did pass in September of 2020, it was reportedly her dying wish that her replacement not come until the new president had been sworn in. Many opinions on both sides of the aisle were expressed by a myriad of public figures and politicians, and 200-year-old letters by Presidents were unearthed and interpreted. When the time came for the sitting President to make a decision, he chose to disregard both that historical analysis and the justice’s last words, and expressed doubt in the veracity of Ginsberg’s reported dying wish. After releasing a statement heralding Ginsberg as a ‘titan of the law’ who ‘led an amazing life, he then gave an interview in which he made clear his intention to replace her, stating that he believed that the report that Ginsberg did not wish to be replaced until the next Presidential term (remember, at this point, the election had not been held, so the next President was not yet decided) was a fabrication authored by Democratic leaders in the House and Senate.

President Trump went on to nominate Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame law professor, who was confirmed by a purely partisan vote.