Kevin Costner Expresses Disappointment In American Politics, Says It’s ‘Unrecognizable’
Oscar-winning actor Kevin Costner has been open about his partisan leanings in the past, and once again, he has spoken out to voice his displeasure over the current political climate, reports Fox News. In a new interview with Variety, the 64-year-old actor referred to current American politics as “unrecognizable.”
“Shame on us for being in that spot. That could change overnight, not because of a vote, but because people say, ‘I want to try to be more than about myself.’ That’s the definition of public service.
“This is the greatest experiment in humankind: America. This great idea about America still exists, it’s still here. People still want to come here, but we’re not first in hardly anything that matters and we have an inflated idea about how we are.”
The actor believes that America had the potential to be great, but that the country’s egocentrism and addiction to excess had overtaken it.
Costner was a public supporter of Barack Obama in 2008, but has not yet openly backed any 2020 candidates, save for one person who is decidedly not running: Michelle Obama.
The director considered her to be bright and well-spoken, as well as intelligent and experienced and said if she were to run for president, she would have his interest.
Kevin Costner on the U.S.: "People still want to come here, but we’re not first in hardly anything that matters and we have an inflated idea about how we are" https://t.co/wTU26FuAtH
— Variety (@Variety) May 4, 2019
Last year, Costner also talked about an “unrecognizable” America during an appearance on The View to promote his Western drama, Yellowstone. The Bodyguard actor was asked how he felt about the Trump Administration’s immigration policy which had separated thousands of immigrant children from their parents at the border of U.S.-Mexico, reported Fox News.
At the time, he remarked that he didn’t “recognize” America or its voice, saying he also did not recognize any individuals with unique voices speaking out. Costner felt there were people who were just going with the flow, and others who were in the middle. He admitted that the country was in a weird spot, and it would require a lot of “compassion, empathy, and intelligence” to find our a way out of the current situation.
He criticized the administration, stressing that “we” have to do better than separating people without a plan. Costner commented that the country has been about and can be about more and that it currently was acting very small.
Costner was one of a group of celebrities that included Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, and Willie Nelson, who went public in denouncing the border policy.
