tHe spoke about Donald Trump’s first run for president, when he won, many people would leave the United States. At least some people were joking along the way. Some were engaged in harsh hyperbolic talk. The joke got worse, and the terrifying victory in 2016 unexpectedly called out the bluff. But even those with the means to move quickly, the shock gradually ran out, and many famous celebrities have lent their voices to protest the administration’s various policies (or do a version of the celebrity: tease the administration through volatile impressions at the live cold open on Saturday night). The message was clear: we don’t actually go anywhere. We’re staying and fighting (or just trying to spend the day). Maybe some were still thinking about leaving the country. I know anyone who has sincerely seen Canada and Italy based on the specific rules of those countries. However, after the global pandemic hit in 2020, there were other concerns related to changing residencies anyway. What’s more, later that year, Trump himself was shown the door.
However, the door remained cracked, and there was a change with Trump’s second coming. Courtney Love is seeking British citizenship. Married couples Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have already moved to the UK and have recently put their remaining US final fortunes for sale, indicating the permanence of the movement. Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and their two children moved to London last summer. In the same city that America Ferrera watches schools, he makes possible moves for solid, straightforward actors. Rosie O’Donnell headed to Ireland where she explicitly cited her concerns about her non-binary children as a reason for seeking citizenship. (Texas native Eva Longoria currently lives in Spain and Mexico, but last fall he insisted that the relocation was not political.)
The nine or ten celebrities aren’t exactly ground swells, but in the relatively quiet context that greeted the second Trump administration, it’s worth noting. Many well-known people support Kamala Harris and have spoken a lot about certain causes since Trump’s reelection. However, the tone and volume are much muted this time, just like the non-cele. This probably reflects fatigue, and if not accurately accepted, perhaps understand, or even fear. If the main job of American celebrities is some form of vision, their small but prominent group is quietly chasing away their country. And it’s not just the famous ones (although mostly relatively rich). Overall there was a 40% increase for Americans seeking British citizenship.
On the one hand, it’s hard to blame people who have the resources to put money in places where their mouths are. The second Trump administration is much more focused on the business of reshaping the government and the country that goes with it, and part of its strategy involves telling everyone that they are not considered real Americans. It is said that women, racial minorities, and others who are not essentially white men actually do not count the same way. Cases like O’Donnell are particularly sympathetic. Anyone with a child who does not identify as belonging to the most traditional category possible must be afraid to sit as their rights are disenfranchised. The top of Hollywood also shows they are ready to surrender to the Trump state, officially destroying their DEI initiatives and, in the case of tech-related companies, they are comfortable with the administration. So it makes sense that some people are opting out of that world.
At the same time, those in these celebrity positions are not as completely out of the country as trans kids, for example, who can’t afford to uproot them from the Red State. To some extent, escaping the Trump administration efficiently has become another luxury of 1%, something like an exemption that Trump and his peers have always wanted themselves. This is not the celebrity’s fault. Trump’s misconduct is himself, it’s the legion. But, as a measure of his corruption, one of the best ways to avoid it without hiding in a cave is to spend money to travel to one of the most expensive cities on the planet. If an ordinary American once peered into a celebrity’s Instagram and felt jealous (or more) on a beautiful home or a particularly flexible vacation, now they have the opportunity to vy for basic rights and freedom from direct persecution. It is actively developing Trump. If you have the right luck and money, you don’t need to be oppressed.
