Skip to main content

Jim Gaffigan says he received threats after 'Twitter rant' about Trump and his supporters


Jim Gaffigan is reviewing what happened and what he learned after his "Twitter rant" about President Donald Trump last week.

In a lengthy post to Facebook Sunday, the actor and comedian, 54, said he felt liberated but also threatened.

He said it was "refreshing to let four years of frustration boil over" toward "passionate Trump friends, relatives and peers," but it didn't come without backlash.

Though many agreed with Gaffigan, others didn't – and the comedian said those opposers let themselves be known, including a commenter he shared an image of with the message "Unsubscribed - you'll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. Enjoy."

"The image that is connected to this post is one of the many messages I received that are quasi threatening or flat out threatening," Gaffigan explained. "We all know Trump is not a unifier but remember he and his cronies stoke hatred and violence. He may say he is the Law and Order candidate, but he wants chaos so can pretend to provide security."

Gaffigan added that although he's "expressed support for gay rights and Black Lives Matter on social media," he's been viewed as apolitical until now.

"I learned early in my stand-up career people don’t want to hear about politics from me. I knew me talking politics wasn’t changing any minds and was only alienating half of the audience," he said. "So if I believe I won’t sway any voters, why speak out like I did? Honestly, I feel I had no choice at this point. I think Trump is ruining (sic) and possibly has already ruined my country. "

He continued, "To be clear upfront I don’t think anyone is going to let an actor or a comedian tell them who to vote for despite the fact that the current President is essentially both and actor and a comedian. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I want to change some minds. Of course I do, I feel strongly about what is going in our country."

USA TODAY has reached out to Gaffigan's rep for additional comment.

More:Jim Gaffigan calls Trump a 'liar and a criminal,' slams 'Trumpers' in series of tweets

More:Bette Midler apologizes for mocking Melania Trump's accent, calling her 'illegal alien'

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Allies of Rep. Adam Kinzinger launch super PAC to support Republicans who have bucked Trump

Founders of the group, which include Kinzinger advisers, are also launching a sister nonprofit to “build a grass roots army,” according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post. Unlike traditional PACs, both organizations can accept unlimited contributions. Nonprofit groups are not required to disclose the identity of their contributors. AD Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) posted a video on Jan. 7, 2020, the day after pro-Trump riots at the Capitol, saying, “It is time to invoke the 25th Amendment.” (@RepKinzinger/Twitter) The effort will be up against significant head winds, as Trump still holds vast sway over the Republican Party — even after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of President Biden’s victory. AD The new groups, which aim to mobilize the kinds of anti-Trump donors who backed the now-embattled Lincoln Project, are being launched as the former president is planning to expand his political operation with his own super PAC. Kinzin...

Biden says K-12 education isn't working — calls for free pre-K to "grade 14"

President Joe Biden on Wednesday praised the nation's K-12 education system for fueling America's economic growth for almost a century. But, he stressed, that system may no longer be sufficient as the foundation for future prosperity. Mr. Biden's American Families Plan is taking aim at an issue that has bedeviled economists as well as millions of families struggling to stay afloat financially: A high school diploma is no longer enough to secure a middle-class life. Under the White House proposal, the nation's K-12 system would be expanded on both ends — from free pre-kindergarten education through a "grade 14," funding two years of schooling before kindergarten and two years of post-high school education through free community college. There's plenty of economic research that links rising high school graduation rates throughout the 20th century to faster U.S. economic growth. For example, broadening education help women enter the workforce and enabled men ...

New climate envoy John Kerry sold off energy holdings to avoid conflict of interest, disclosures show

Financial disclosures released by former Secretary of State John Kerry indicate that until March of this year he held hundreds of thousands of dollars of investments in energy-related companies that may end up being affected by policies he'll help shape as President Joe Biden's new climate envoy. An ABC News analysis of his assets show that in recent years, Kerry held stakes in at least three dozen companies related to the energy industry, including firms dealing in electric, oil and gas, and nuclear energy, with shares worth between $204,000 and $960,000. Kerry had also recently held high-ranking positions within firms and entities that could end up being regulated by his climate action policies, filings show. A certificate of divestiture issued by the Office of Government Ethics on March 8 shows Kerry's plan to divest from companies that could pose a conflict of interest for his new role as U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, a common measure that newly appointed...