SAG Ends Its Feud With Trump With Two Little Words
Donald Trump is blessedly out of office, but apparently, he’s still nursing petty wounds and slights. This time, he’s lashing out against the SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents film and television actors, and its president Gabrielle Carteris (yes, of 90210 fame), penning a letter that is stunning in its immaturity and unintentional hilariousness, even for #45.
“Ms. Carteris,” the letter begins. “I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares!”
Evidently, Trump cares, because he goes on to tout his cameos in Home Alone 2, Zoolander, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and, puzzlingly, Saturday Night Live, which he hosted in 2004 and 2015 (these cameos explaining his membership in the union in the first place). Trump pointedly used his now-deleted Twitter account to rail against Alec Baldwin’s portrayals of him during his presidency. He also calls his NBC reality show The Apprentice “one of the most successful shows in television history” (it is not), and takes credit for boosting cable news viewership at “MSDNC” and “Fake News CNN.”
Trump then blasts the union, citing “lawsuits from celebrated actors” and “massive unemployment” — the irony that the entertainment industry is dealing with unemployment due to a pandemic that his administration bungled is completely lost on him.
The pitiful letter comes after the SAG-AFTRA had begun disciplinary procedures stemming from the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol building. The SAG-AFTRA’s board voted to order the investigation and hearing against Trump for violating the SAG-AFTRA’s union constitution; in a statement, the union alleged that Trump had “[sustained] a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members.”
If the committee had found Trump guilty, he likely would have been expelled from the union. Trump weaseled out of any professional discipline by resigning from the union first — a tacit acknowledgment that expulsion would have been the likely outcome, even if he will never admit it.
It’s hard to believe that the SAG-AFTRA may have instituted more severe punishments for Trump’s treasonous actions than his upcoming second impeachment trial. It’s even harder to believe that less than a month ago, this man had access to nuclear codes. According to the Hollywood Reporter’s Kim Masters, Carteris replied with a curt “Thank you.” You can read his letter below.
