After criticizing former president Donald Trump in her song “Don’t Lie to Me,” Barbra Streisand is hitting back again. She says if Trump is re-elected as the Republican candidate for 2024, she plans to leave the United States.
Calling Trump “so stupid” and “ill-informed,” Barbra told Stephen Colbert, “I can’t live in this country if he becomes president.”
This isn’t the first time she’s made this threat, and she’s not the only celebrity who has said they would leave the country if Trump won again. Many others promised to move to Canada, Europe, or even farther away after Trump’s 2016 win, but none followed through.
At 81 years old, Barbra wasn’t trying to be funny when she said, “Yes, Mr. Trump, let’s make America great again. But first, get one thing straight: America was great – before you were elected.”
As a long-time Democratic supporter, she has often expressed her dislike for Trump, calling him “the Liar in Chief” and “the Groper in Chief.”
In 2018, she released her 36th album, “Walls,” which was inspired by Trump’s presidency.
Speaking with the Associated Press about her song, Barbra Streisand said, “I wanted to express the sadness and heartbreak I was feeling.” She added, “I just can’t stand what’s going on. His attack on our democracy, our institutions, and our founders – it feels like we’re in a fight… a war for the soul of America.”
Her Grammy-nominated album, which criticizes Trump’s rule, includes the song “Don’t Lie to Me.” Barbra explained that this song was inspired by the news that made her “sick,” full of lies and craziness.
“I can’t stand being lied to, and I don’t think the country should be lied to either.” She also joked, “And I just couldn’t understand how he could lie so much without feeling any guilt (clearly he’s not Jewish).”
In her 2023 memoir, “My Name is Barbra,” she explains why she feels the need to be politically involved and discusses the tension between politicians and artists.
“Why does it make so many people angry when artists speak out?” Babs asks. “Artists, Streisand said, can serve as ‘a country’s conscience.’ Their work gives us a reflection of the times, and sometimes they challenge us to see what others would prefer to ignore. They can 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.”
Offering her powerful voice unfortunately didn’t 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.”
But Barbra Streisand wasn’t the only big-name celebrity who said they would leave the U.S. if Trump became president.
According to The Wrap, comedian George Lopez joked that he would move back to Mexico: “If [Trump] wins, he won’t have to worry about immigration, we’ll all go back.”
Chelsea Handler, who initially said she would leave, changed her mind the day after Trump won. “Yesterday, my staff reminded me that platforms and voices like mine are needed more than ever; leaving the country is quitting,” she said.
Other celebrities had more creative escape plans. Comedian and talk show host Jon Stewart said he would consider going to another planet because “this planet’s gone bonkers.”
Cher tweeted, “IF HE WERE TO BE ELECTED, I’M MOVING TO JUPITER.”
After spending “four years in a dark hole,” Barbra Streisand told People in 2021 that she thinks the country is heading in the right direction with President Joe Biden. She praised Biden for his compassion, honesty, integrity, and love of facts over fiction.
In an essay for Variety, Streisand wrote, “Since 2016, we’ve been dragged down into the mud of Trump’s swamp. He has ruined our standing in the world with his ridiculous boasts and shocking ignorance.”
Now, with Trump as the leading Republican candidate for the next election, Streisand is expressing her concerns again. On The Late Show, she told Stephen Colbert that she couldn’t live in a country ruled by someone she calls “so stupid” and “so ill-informed.”
“I can’t live in this country if he becomes president,” she said. If she moves, she’ll likely 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 writes.
“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 circles back to Canada as a new potential home, she’ll have to act quickly as the Republicans are also calling to build a wall along the border of Canada.
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