Some people are dealing with the reality of a Donald Trump presidency by getting high. I feel like Jeff Bridges is one of those people. I just read Bridges’ Daily Beast interview, conducted post-election, and it reads like he was high AF. Not that I blame him for that at all. Jeff Bridges is a longtime Democrat, a longtime Clinton family supporter, and a longtime advocate for liberal/progressive causes. He’s spent years advocating for his progressive politics, and I too have felt the urge to get really baked for several years just to deal with President Trump. Jeff is currently promoting Hell or High Water, a “neo-Western” which is actually getting a lot of Oscar buzz (critics say it’s a really good movie overall). While Bridges talks about the movie a lot in this Daily Beast interview, most of the winding conversation is about Trump, America and where we go from here. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

On Trump’s unpredictability: “Trump is certainly unpredictable. One moment he’s saying that Hillary should be arrested, that she’s the worst person that’s ever been up for office, and the next moment he’s saying she’s done some great things for our country. He switches like that! And in his acceptance speech, I thought there were some wonderful things—if you took it out of context.”

The bipolar nature of the human condition: “We’re seeing that now in a big way. It’s such an interesting situation where you have this very violent selfish species that’s also capable of love and generosity and all of these things. We do have this aspect of violence to us. But we also have this dream of peace. How are we going to go towards this destination that it seems like we all want? Are we built for it? Can we pull that off?”

His current thoughts on Trump: “It’s a riddle. You’re looking for the village of truth, you come to a fork in the road, and there’s a guy standing there. You know he’s either from the village of truth or the village of lies. All the people that live in the village of truth have to tell the truth. All the people who live in the village of lies have to tell lies. You have one question to ask this guy, to get to the village of truth, but you don’t know which village he’s from. What is your question? The answer is, ‘Which is the road to your village?’ Maybe that’s how we respond to this. He says he wants to make America great again. I get the sense he’s a person who wants to be loved, and being lovable is what makes people love you. I think each of us has a version of that in our hearts and we follow that. You want to make America great? Ok, I’m with you, let’s go! But what is America?”

He met a man in Florence, Italy: “I had a wonderful night in a restaurant there with a guy named Garga. I had jet lag and then I got my second wind and I said to him after the restaurant was closed, ‘These tablecloths are going to waste—do you have any paint?’ He didn’t speak any English but he had his son interpreting what I was saying. He said, ‘Yes. Great!’ So we spent the night doing that. I got into this conversation with him, and he said, ‘Do you know why America is called America? America is a star, and we’re all going there. And you guys are dropping the ball. Don’t do that! This is a great experiment that’s been going on for thousands and thousands of years. We’re all in this together.’ It’s the idea of America. And it keeps being refined.”

Battling cynicism: “What Elizabeth Warren was saying—wasn’t that great? I’m with her. [Trump’s] position inspires my position. I don’t think everybody should have machine guns. Where do you draw the line? I think the main battle for me personally is battling my own cynicism and other people’s cynicism. I try to surround myself… to do something positive and see the results. And that fuels me to do more. What if we made a beautiful movie of the world? What kind of future do we want to make for each other?”

[From The Daily Beast]

I don’t have a problem with what Jeff is saying, but I do think he sounds either high or just… very, very Zen. The Dude Abides kind of Zen. I do have to say this though… we shouldn’t pay any g-ddamn attention to what Trump said during his speech, or following his visit to the White House where Pres. Obama possibly Jedi-mind-trick’d him. Watch Trump’s actions and the actions of people around him. The hire of Steve Bannon, the Stalin-esque purge, the hiring of racist, right-wing nutburgers, the prioritization of loyalty over baseline competence. That matters more than Trump just talking sh-t in a speech.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.