Trump Resigns From Screen Actors Guild Rather Than Face Disciplinary Meaures

Trump in 1989Renée C. Byer/Zuma

Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.Forget the United States Constitution. Former President Trump blatantly violated the constitution of the Screen Actors Guild, and the union’s disciplinary committee won’t have that.
The union wrote in a press release last month that a disciplinary committee would hear charges regarding “Trump’s role in inciting the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, and in sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members.” If Trump were found guilty, he’d face the most severe consequence possible: expulsion.
Trump may not have been willing to resign from the presidency, but the Screen Actors Guild? Pfft. In his words: “Who cares!” In a letter released today, Trump, still referring to himself as the president, declared that he no longer wished to be associated with the union—but not before bragging about his performances in Home Alone 2 and Zoolander.

INBOX: Ex-Pres. Trump resigns from @sagaftra union as it prepped disciplinary action against him. Says in letter“I’m very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and television shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air…” pic.twitter.com/GN2cDxryZo
— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) February 4, 2021

Trump isn’t the first president to be a member of the guild. Former President Ronald Reagan served seven terms as its president and even managed to negotiate a residual payment system for actors. Too bad not all actors-turned-presidents could rely on the lasting respect of Hollywood.