After pointedly criticizing former President Donald Trump in her song “Don’t Lie to Me,” Barbra Streisand has once again taken aim at the “tyrant.” She stated that if the Republican front-runner for 2024 is re-elected, she plans to leave the United States.
Calling the four-times-indicted Trump “so stupid” and “ill-informed,” the singer and actor told Stephen Colbert, “I can’t live in this country if he becomes president.”
However, this isn’t the first time Streisand has made such a threat, nor is she the only celebrity who vowed to flee to Canada, Europe, or even Jupiter after Trump’s 2016 victory.
Keep reading to see her brilliant interview…
Barbra Streisand, the 81-year-old icon, wasn’t trying to be a Funny Girl when she remarked, “Yes, Mr. Trump, let’s make America great again. But first, get one thing straight: America was great – before you were elected.”
A long-time Democratic supporter and fundraiser, Streisand has been vocal about her disdain for the former president, calling him “the Liar in Chief, the Groper in Chief.”
In 2018, the EGOT winner (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) released her 36th album, “Walls,” inspired by the reality show star turned President of the United States.
Discussing the album with the Associated Press, she said, “I wanted to talk about the things that were making me feel so sad, heartbroken.” Streisand continued, “I just can’t stand what’s going on. His assault on our democracy, our institutions, our founders – I think we’re in a fight…We’re in a war for the soul of America.”
The Grammy-nominated album, a musical critique of Trump’s tenure, includes songs like “Don’t Lie to Me,” which Streisand said was motivated by the news that made her “sick, listening to lies, listening to things that are such craziness.”
“I can’t stand being lied to, and I don’t think the country should be lied to either,” she added. Streisand then quipped, “And I just couldn’t comprehend how he could tell all these lies with absolutely no guilt (clearly he’s not Jewish).”
‘Art is the enemy of tyrants’
Explaining her motivation for political involvement, Streisand addresses the friction between politicians and artists in her 2023 memoir, “My Name is Barbra.”
“Why does it make so many people angry when artists speak out?” Streisand asks. “Artists can serve as ‘a country’s conscience.’ Their work reflects the times and sometimes challenges us to see what others would prefer to ignore. They give voice to the voiceless by speaking up when no one else will.”
She adds, “That’s why art is the enemy of tyrants and dictators.”
Despite her efforts, her powerful voice did not sway the voting population.
Ahead of the 2016 elections, the Prince of Tides star told the Australian version of 60 Minutes, “He has no facts. I don’t know, I can’t believe it. I’m either coming to your country [Australia], if you’ll let me in, or Canada.”
Streisand was not alone among celebrities who claimed they would leave the U.S. if Trump took office.
The Wrap reports that comedian George Lopez joked he’d go back to Mexico: “If [Trump] wins, he won’t have to worry about immigration, we’ll all go back.”
Chelsea Handler, who vowed to leave, reversed her decision the day after Trump’s victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. “Yesterday, my staff reminded me that platforms and voices like mine are needed more than ever; leaving the country is quitting.”
Other celebrities had more creative escape plans.
Comedian and talk show host Jon Stewart said, “I would consider getting in a rocket and going to another planet, because clearly this planet’s gone bonkers.”
@gabeAlfassy IF HE WERE TO BE ELECTED,IM MOVING TO JUPITER 😖
— Cher (@cher) June 16, 2015
And Cher tweeted, “IF HE WERE TO BE ELECTED, IM MOVING TO JUPITER.”
Post Trump
After spending “four years in a dark hole,” the star of 1983’s Yentl told People that with President Joe Biden, “the country is certainly headed in the right direction.” In the 2021 interview, she continued, “I love Biden. I love his compassion, his honesty, his integrity, his love of facts, not fiction.”
She expressed similar sentiments in an essay for Variety, writing, “Since 2016, we’ve been dragged down into the mud of Trump’s swamp. He has demolished our standing in the world with his laughable boasts and breathtaking ignorance.”
Now, Streisand is voicing her concerns over the upcoming elections and Trump as the clear Republican frontrunner.
Appearing on an episode of The Late Show, the legendary singer and actor told host Stephen Colbert that she won’t tolerate living in a country ruled by the man she earlier called “so stupid” and “so ill-informed.”
“I can’t live in this country if he becomes president,” Streisand said, adding that if she relocates, she’ll probably head to England because “I like England.”
“Trump is a man who has never once taken responsibility for his own actions, preferring to blame others when he’s at fault. Even impeachment hasn’t humbled him, because thanks to his Republican enablers, he has escaped accountability once again,” she wrote.
“We need a new America, without pollution, without obscenities, without insults, without revenge. We need to restore the nobility of truth…and only then will America be great again.”
If Streisand considers Canada as a new potential home, she might have to act quickly, as some Republicans are also calling to build a wall along the Canadian border.
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