Actress and activist Susan Sarandon on Tuesday pushed back against the notion that her dissatisfaction with Hillary Clinton’s record would compel her to cast a ballot for Donald Trump.
The Oscar winner, who has been a vocal proponent of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign, appeared on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” Monday to discuss why she has advocated for his candidacy. During the interview, Sarandon detailed reservations about backing Hillary Clinton, which some took as an indication that she would be more likely to support Trump than Clinton in a general election.
Hayes asked Sarandon about the possibility that Sanders supporters would not support Clinton if she ultimately won the Democratic nomination, a concern Sarandon said was legitimate.
“She’s accepted money from all those people,” Sarandon said, referring to donors representing corporate interests. “She doesn’t even want to fight for a $15 minimum wage. So these are people that have not been, that have not come out before, so why would we think they’re going to come out now for her?”
“They just feel like she’s not authentic, that she’s a liar, that they don’t trust her so what difference does it make,” Sarandon said.
Sarandon then declined to commit to supporting Clinton if Sanders lost the primary.
“I don’t know,” Sarandon told Hayes. “I’m going to see what happens.”
Hayes expressed disbelief that Sarandon was ambivalent about voting for Clinton in light of Trump’s rise.
“You know, some people feel that Donald Trump will bring the revolution immediately,” Sarandon said. “If he gets in, then things will really explode.”
Some took this exchange to mean that Sarandon was more inclined to vote for Trump than Clinton, a notion which she rejected via social media with an “LOL.”
LOL that I would ever vote Trump. https://t.co/pnENMgmbvm
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) March 29, 2016
Sarandon then responded to fellow actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Debra Messing, who had tweeted about her comments.
I respect but disagree with @SusanSarandon. A possible support of Trump over @HillaryClinton is dangerous 2 women, minorities & immigrants.
— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) March 29, 2016
Of course I would never support Trump for any reason. If you watch the interview you'll see that's not what I said. https://t.co/wQk0cMmeyp
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) March 29, 2016
Susan Sarandon muses tht Trump prezcy wud b better 4 the country thn Hillary.Wonder if she'd say that if she were poor,gay,Muslim or immgrnt
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) March 30, 2016
Watch the interview. Don't just read the headlines. #Spin https://t.co/jW0cXq406K
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) March 30, 2016
Sarandon then re-tweeted a call for people to request corrections from publications that ran stories about her supporting Trump over Clinton.
