Richard Gere again criticizes Donald Trump: “A maniac” who destroys “everything that is good”
American actor Richard Gere said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is “a maniac” who destroys “everything that is good”, reports AFP.
“We are living in the darkest moment we have ever known on this planet. Who would have thought that America could change like this? Who would have thought that such a maniac could become president of the United States?”, said the 76-year-old American actor, during a public discussion in Oslo.
Richard Gere was in the Norwegian capital to award the “Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent” to the Chinese artist Gao Zhen, imprisoned in his country, and the Burmese dissident Sai, on the occasion of the Oslo Freedom Forum.
“From day one, this guy has destroyed almost everything that was good about the American government and the American people,” he declared from the stage in front of hundreds of people.
“How was this possible? Because we fell asleep. We didn't worry. We didn't vote. We didn't really listen,” added the actor, while admitting that he didn't mobilize those around him enough either.
Saying he had recently visited the former Nazi concentration camp Dachau, he warned of societal apathy.
“We have to see the signals, this dictatorship of the monsters, how fast it is setting in. We have to stay vigilant,” said Richard Gere.
In February 2025, the lead actor of the films “Pretty Woman” and “American Gigolo” described Donald Trump using the word “bully”, an English term that describes a “brutal man” who bullies other people.
A longtime supporter of Tibet and a convert to Buddhism, Richard Gere has met frequently with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader who Beijing accuses of inciting separatism in the Himalayan region.
The American actor lives in Spain with his Spanish wife, Alejandra Silva, since 2024.
