Trump emissaries to troll in Hollywood

President-elect Donald Trump greets actor Sylvester Stallone on stage at the America First Policy Institute Gala at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 14, 2024.
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Donald Trump’s primary response to the wildfires in California has been to blame and mock state Democratic leaders at Truth Social. But is there a way he can be even more monstrous to the Americans suffering in Southern California right now? It turns out there is!

Thursday afternoon, Trump said announced on social media that he is naming Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone to be “Special Ambassadors for a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California”:

There is no reason to believe that Trump sincerely wants to help the American film industry, which has rejected and mocked Trump since he entered politics.

First, this is not a real position. Trump doesn’t even use a consistent title for Voight, Gibson and Stallone, calling them both “special ambassadors” and “special envoys.” And it’s not clear what it means to be Trump’s “eyes and ears” in the film industry, unless he’s trying to conjure up fears of another Red Scare.

Second, there are the three people Trump selected for this fictional role. In general, his ambassadors have not been chosen for their diplomatic skills; his choices have been about brazenly rewarding allies (eg, Kimberly Guilfoyle and various billionaire friends) or simple retaliation (eg, Ivanka’s former father-in-law, Charles Kushner). Stallone and Voight fall into the former category: They are among the few open Trump supporters in Hollywood. Gibson is in the latter category; including him seems like a sore thumb to the industry. For years he was the closest close out in Hollywood for making racist and anti-Semitic comments. Although he is working againhe is still incredibly controversial. After losing his home in the wildfires in Los Angeles last week, he spread out conspiracy theories on Fox News and The Joe Rogan Experiencesuggesting that people may have been “commissioned” to start the devastating fires.

Finally, there is the underlying idea that Trump should appoint ambassadors to Hollywood as if it is not part of the United States. He emphasizes this by calling it a “wonderful but very troubled place.” Referring to Hollywood as a location, not just an industry, and describing it as “troubled” makes it impossible not to think of the wildfires.

Perhaps Trump had this dig planned for months, but dropping it while so many people working in Hollywood — not just big celebrities, but the many average Americans employed in the film industry — have lost their homes and possibly their loved ones , is truly appalling.