Comedian Jim Gaffigan is reviewing the fallout from his Twitter rant about President Donald Trump last week. In a post on Facebook Sunday, the 54-year-old said it was “refreshing to let four years of frustration boil over” toward “passionate Trump friends, relatives and peers,” but there was a serious backlash.
One follower sent him the message: “Unsubscribed – you'll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. Enjoy.”
“The image that is connected to this post is one of the many messages I received that are quasi threatening or flat out threatening,” Gaffigan explained. “We all know Trump is not a unifier but remember he and his cronies stoke hatred and violence. He may say he is the Law and Order candidate, but he wants chaos so can pretend to provide security.”
He added that even though he “expressed support for gay rights and Black Lives Matter on social media,” he's been viewed as apolitical until now.
“I learned early in my stand-up career people don’t want to hear about politics from me. I knew me talking politics wasn’t changing any minds and was only alienating half of the audience,” he said. “So if I believe I won’t sway any voters, why speak out like I did? Honestly, I feel I had no choice at this point. I think Trump is ruining and possibly has already ruined my country.”
He continued, “To be clear upfront I don’t think anyone is going to let an actor or a comedian tell them who to vote for despite the fact that the current President is essentially both and actor and a comedian. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I want to change some minds. Of course I do, I feel strongly about what is going in our country.”