Woody Allen: Trump is a very good actor; I disagree with 99% of his policies
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Woody Allen praised Donald Trump in a new interview with Bill Maher, saying that working with him on the 1998 film Celebrity was “very easy.”
The Annie Hall director, accused of child abuse, spoke about Trump—who has faced similar allegations and ties to human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—saying: “I’m not a Trump supporter. I’m one of the few people who can say I directed Trump. I directed him in a movie. It was an honor to work with him, and he’s a very good actor. He was very polite…” He added that Trump “showed a genuine interest in show business” and delivered his role precisely.
Allen continued: “If he let me, I could direct him again. Now that he’s president, if he allowed me to direct him, I think he could be sensational. But working with him was very, very easy.”
The 89-year-old filmmaker stressed that he does not support Trump politically: “I’m a Democrat. I voted for Kamala Harris. And I disagree with Trump on 95 percent, maybe 99 percent of issues. But as an actor, he was very good. He was very believable and had charismatic qualities as a performer.”
Allen expressed surprise that Trump entered politics, which he described as bringing “nothing but trouble, urgent decisions, and suffering.” He added: “This was a man who used to watch the Knicks games, liked to play golf, and judge beauty contests. He enjoyed pleasant and relaxing things.”
When Maher asked whether politics itself is a form of acting, Allen replied: “That doesn’t bother me. They all have to put on a show for their people. Even if I don’t disagree with every single one of his political views, I disagree with almost all of them. I can only judge based on my experience directing him. And that experience was very pleasant, and he was very professional and very polite with everyone.”
In another part of the interview, Allen said he was not harmed by facing sexual abuse allegations and being “canceled”: “But if I were 40, or 50, or in my 30s, it could have been painful.”
Maher remarked that if he faced such allegations himself, he would have been “destroyed.” Allen responded: “If you’re innocent, you’re not destroyed.”
