Actor Jason Isaacs is making headlines after a surprising political rant during a TV interview. While promoting the latest season of “The White Lotus” on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the British actor shifted from talking about the show to sharing his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s policies.
Isaacs, who plays a wealthy businessman in the HBO series, swiftly transitioned from discussing entertainment to sharply criticizing Trump’s actions, particularly his cuts to USAID.
During the interview, host Jonathan Lemire introduced Isaacs to discuss the show, but Isaacs turned the conversation toward the difficulty of transitioning from serious topics like Trump’s policies to something lighter like TV. He explained how hard it was to move from discussing global issues, like Trump’s cuts to aid programs and attacks on Social Security, to talking about a comedy series.
Isaacs didn’t hold back. “When I sat down, I went, ‘How do you transition from [talking about] killing people all over the world by taking their medicine away and then talk about a television show?’” Isaacs said. “But maybe there is some kind of segue because [‘The White Lotus’ is] about rich people being selfish.”
He went on to ask, “If you decided that Medicare wasn’t working, would you shut down all treatment for every single person in America? Or would you go, ‘Let’s review it while it’s ongoing because we’re saving people’s lives?’”
Isaacs then made a direct reference to Trump’s cuts to global aid. “How do you take money away from the entire world, killing millions of people, taking their medicine away, and then go, ‘We may give it back to you in a few months’ time, when you’re dead’? What is the logic behind that? Who voted for that?”
He added, “That was not part of his mandate. I watched in horror most of the campaigning, and he never mentioned any of that stuff.”
Before returning to the show discussion, Isaacs made a final link between his character and the political situation: “I am playing an enormously wealthy and self-centered person who has really only thought about himself for most of his life.”
Lemire jokingly responded, “We appreciate versatile guests who can do both the news and their show.”
The clip from this exchange has since gone viral, drawing a lot of attention across social media.
Watch the video below from MSNBC:
