Sean Penn has said that President Donald Trump “might try to destroy the world”.
The actor was interviewed by Jim Acosta‘s Substack podcast recently to promote his new film Words of War, when the topic of El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele, who has described himself as the “world’s coolest dictator”, came up, leading to discussion on whether Trump will try to stay in the White House past his term limit.
Penn told the host that “we should consider worst-case scenarios” and that Trump “might try to destroy the world before he ages out of life.”
“I do think it’s a reasonable theory that Donald Trump is not unlike the spouse of someone who leaves him, perhaps for another, who then murders their former partner because if they can’t have her, nobody can,” Penn said. “I think Donald Trump and his solipsism may have that relationship with the world and that this destruction is in part a power play, and also a literal intention of his final out.”
Congressman Eric Swalwell, who is an executive producer on Words of War and was also a guest on the podcast, said, “What worries me is if he doesn’t believe there’s somebody who can protect him, you will see him ratchet up what he’s willing to do to the country to protect himself.”
Sean Penn goes on tirade against Trump; compares him to a m**derer.
“I do think it’s a reasonable theory that Donald Trump is not unlike the spouse of someone who leaves him, perhaps for another, who then m**ders their former partner because if they can’t have her, nobody can.” pic.twitter.com/djimaHzVAv
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 5, 2025
He continued: “Our only hope is a Congress that will check it, a press that will report on it, a court that’s independent to rule on it and a town square filled with Americans who say ‘hell no’.”
It comes amid a chaotic era for the US, where Trump’s tariff plans have had a significant impact on the entertainment industry. He signed an executive order to impose tariffs on imports from a number of countries back in February, but due to backlash, he delayed the majority of them.
Yesterday (May 4), he announced that he will be authorising 100 per cent tariffs on films made outside of the United States. Concrete details on his 100 per cent tariff plans have yet to be shared, and it is currently unknown if this will only apply to foreign films, or if it will include US productions that are partially filmed overseas.
Tariffs have also caused live music stocks to crash and inflicted “damage” on the instrument market, while radio giants got rocked, with iHeartMedia stocks falling more than 13 per cent, Cumulus Media dropping over 10 percent, followed closely by SiriusXM.
Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 were also delayed due to the tariffs, and US video game trade group Entertainment Software Association (ESA) warned the financial plan will have “a real and detrimental impact” on the games industry
Most recently, Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end the federal funding of “biased media” outlets National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
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