Film star Richard Gere slammed President Donald Trump and warned of the rise of authoritarianism globally during an award show in Spain over the weekend.
“I’m coming from a place now that we’re in a very dark place in America, where we have a bully and a thug who is the president of the United States,” Gere, 75, said as he accepted a lifetime achievement trophy at Spain’s Goya Awards on Saturday.
The crowd cheered.
But Gere ― who last year announced he was moving to Spain, where his wife, Alejandra Silva, is from ― said the problem isn’t confined to his homeland.
“It’s everywhere,” he said. “Everywhere.”
He said he read a “moving letter” in The New York Times from a writer in Hungary who warned of the “slippery slope.”
“Authoritarianism takes us all over,” he said. “We have to be vigilant. We have to be alert. We have to be energetic. We have to be brave. We have to be courageous. And everyone who’s watching this ― in the Spanish-speaking world and elsewhere ― we have to be willing to stand up, tell the truth, be honest. And there’s a place in all of our lives for basic kindness, for basic love and understanding.”
Variety noted that Gere made similar comments at a news conference on Friday where he warned that the “dark marriage of money and power” in the United States is a danger to the entire planet.
“The millionaire clowns surrounding Trump are immature and narcissistic, a deadly mix,” he said.
Richard Gere, “We have a bully and a thug who is President of the United States”
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog.bsky.social) 2025-02-09T14:29:08.424Z
