Last week, actor Robert Redford wrote an op-ed declaring his position in the upcoming election:
“But one thing is clear: Instead of a moral compass in the Oval Office, there’s a moral vacuum.
Instead of a president who says we’re all in it together, we have a president who’s in it for himself.
Instead of words that uplift and unite, we hear words that inflame and divide.
When someone retweets (and then deletes) a video of a supporter shouting “white power” or calls journalists “enemies of the state,” when he turns a lifesaving mask against contagion into a weapon in a culture war, when he orders the police and the military to tear gas peaceful protestors so he can wave a Bible at the cameras, he sacrifices — again and again — any claim to moral authority.
Another four years of this would degrade our country beyond repair.”
He writes more, of course, but his message is clear:
Robert Redford stands against Donald Trump.
He’s not the only celebrity, of course, to declare his opposition for Trump. The list of celebrities who have declared their opposition is long. Alec Baldwin, Lady Gaga,Robert De Niro, Kim Kardashian, Shonda Rhimes, Stephen King, Bruce Springsteen, Lebron James, Sam Jackson, Jennifer Lawrence, Shakira, Don Cheadle, Demi Lovato, Kumail Nanjiani, Sarah Silverman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Evans, and nearly every late night comedy show host, just to name a few.
Just this week, Kanye West decided to stop supporting Trump. He also announced his own bid to run for President, so perhaps that is a self serving declaration, but it’s Kanye West.
There’s really no telling.
The list is long. Unfortunately, it’s not long enough.
Actors, athletes, musicians, and the like have deliberately avoiding politics over the years. Afraid to spurn audience and fan, they have often kept their politics to themselves, allowing both sides of the aisle to purchase their wares without their voting record getting in the way.
As Michael Jordan maybe once said, “Republicans buy shoes, too.”
I’ve never been a fan of folks who play the middle. Avoiding taking a stand on an issue in fear that someone may not like your position has always been a coward’s way out. Yes, it may help you sell more shoes or albums or theater tickets, but when you’re afforded celebrity status and given the megaphone that comes with fame, I believe that you have a responsibility to speak for those who cannot, particularly in times like these.
Especially in times like these.
As an author, I seek to sell books. Like so many celebrities, I am also looking to hock my wares. I have been told by more than one publicist and media consultant that it would behoove me to avoid the political fray or at least become slightly less zealous in my rhetoric.
I have declined. I believe in standing on a platform of authenticity and vulnerability. I’m also a patriot who loves his country and believes that I have an obligation to speak, march, assemble, and vote in defense of liberty.
Selling books is important, but being an American is more important.
Two decades from now, when the children of today look back on this time in history, they will ask us what the hell we were were thinking. Why was racism allowed to flourish in America under Donald Trump? How could such a vile ignoramus have been allowed to lead this nation? Why did you allow the federal government to cage children on the border, transfer massive wealth from the lower and middle class to the upper class through the Trump tax cuts, and expel undocumented immigrants from our country after they had served in our armed forces? Why did you allow the federal government to do almost nothing as a pandemic rages across the country?
I can hear it now:
“The President drew on a weather map with a Sharpie rather than admitting he was wrong. He referred to Nazis as “very fine people.” He bragged about sexual assault. He called African nations “shithole countries.” He told Americans that the coronavirus pandemic would be gone by April. He proposed injecting household cleaners into the bodies of Americans in order to combat the virus. He supported the Confederate flag. What were you all thinking?”
My own children may ask these very questions. They’ve already asked some of them.
When they do, I will at least be able to point to a record of activism. I marched. I protested. I wrote in opposition of Trump and his presidency. I donated time and money to the cause. I called my Senators and congressman constantly.
And yes, I joined a lawsuit against the President for blocking me on Twitter, and when I won and was unblocked, I used my Twitter account to respond to his hatred, stupidity, and immaturity constantly.
No one will ever question my position nor my efforts to stand in opposition to this man and his merry band of cowards and sycophants.
This is why I respect and admire celebrities who are willing to speak out. Celebrities who place country before dollar. Celebrities who place citizenship and morality over cheers and sales.
As a Celtics fan, I was never a fan of Lebron James.
When James began appearing alongside Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail back in 2016, my opinion of him immediately changed. I still wanted the Celtics to kick his ass every time they played basketball, but off the court, I respected and admired him for his willingness to take a public, political stand.
I wish more celebrities would do what Redford and James and so many others have done.
Of course, there is the other side of the coin. The celebrity who inexplicable supports the racist in the White House. They exist, too. Thankfully, they are far fewer in number, and their numbers of declining rapidly as celebrities who supported and voted for Trump in 2016 have jumped ship since then after seeing him in action.
If you voted for Trump in 2016 but have seen the error of your ways, I get it. We all do incredibly stupid things from time to time.
But some still remain vocal in their support. Scott Baio. Jon Voight. Rosanne Barr. Kelsey Grammer. Dennis Quaid. Mike Tyson. Gene Simmons. Hulk Hogan. Gary Busey.
Not exactly a who’s who of celebrities, but they exist. The brain trust of my beloved New England Patriots, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft, plus former quarterback Tom Brady, supported Trump to varying degrees in 2016. None of them campaigned or even spoke publicly about Trump in relationship to politics, but a letter that Belichick wrote to Trump just before the election was leaked and used on the campaign trail.
All three have seemed to back away from Trump since the election. After winning the Super Bowl in 2019, for example, the team refused to visit the White House, and Kraft has criticized Trump’s position on players kneeling during the national anthem, calling it “divisive and horrible.”
Still, none of them have openly denounced Trump. As a Patriots fan and season ticket holder, it’s deeply disappointing.
Just last week, Goya CEO Robert Unanue offered effusive praise of Trump in a meeting at the White House, prompting a nationwide boycott of Goya foods.
So yes, it’s true that stating your political positions can sometimes cost you. Goya food will undoubtedly lose millions in sales in the coming months as consumers shift to brands that don’t openly support Trump.
But the solution is simple:
Don’t support a racist. Don’t support an ignorant fool. Don’t support a man who brags about sexual assault and fiddles away as America becomes the global center for COVID-19.
This is not your average Democrat-Republican debate. This is not a reasonable person who disagrees with your viewpoint. This is not a patriot who believes that the country should be led in a direction that you don’t support.
This is an incompetent, self-serving, racist. A man who insults war heroes and Gold Star families. A man who cages children and deports men and women who have fought for our flag overseas. A man who does nothing as tens of thousands of Americans die of a disease for which the United States has become the epicenter.
Maybe take a page from Robert Redford. Be clear, direct, and unwavering in your opposition to this President.
