Matthew McConaughey condemns the ‘illiberal left’ that ‘patronizes’ MAGA voters

HBO Premiere True Detective Season 3

I won’t speak about the ongoing Brexit shenanigans and what Brexit voters really mean or what they really believe. I have no idea, and I’m just not well-acquainted enough with the ins and outs of the data on Brexit voters. But I am well-acquainted with the realities of America’s MAGA demographic, arguably 30-46% of the country. And let me tell you something: if you voted for Donald Trump in 2016 or 2020, I honestly don’t care about you or what you have to say about a g–damn thing. Trump voters weren’t attracted to Trump out of “economic insecurity” or because they “felt left behind.” They voted for Trump because his racism, bigotry, hatred and misogyny spoke to them deeply. But, according to Russell Brand and Matthew McConaughey, this is all some kind of class warfare and we shouldn’t tell stupid racist a–holes that they’re dumb as a box of hair.

Matthew McConaughey and Russell Brand have condemned the perceived hypocrisy of Hollywood political views in a raucous podcast. Speaking on Brand’s Luminary podcast, Under The Skin, earlier this week, the actors attacked those in the entertainment community who are urging Trump supporters to passively give up on hope of overturning the election results. Brand asked McConaughey whether he had noticed a “condemnation and criticism of ordinary working people” by liberal Hollywood.

“[There is] a kind of offhandedness, like, ‘Oh, they’re dumb, they’re voting for Brexit, they’re voting for Trump.’ I don’t like it, and I don’t like to hear it,” Brand said.

McConaughey agreed, saying “There are a lot [of people] on that illiberal left that absolutely condescend, patronize, and are arrogant towards the other 50 percent.”

The sore subject of the 2016 election was also a talking point between the actors.

“I’m sure you saw it in our industry when Trump was voted in four years ago, they were in denial that was real. Some of them were in absolute denial,” McConaughey told Brand.

That attitude is hypocritical, he contended.

“[Now] it looks like Biden’s our guy. Now you’ve got the right that’s in denial, cause their side has fake news. And I understand, they’ve been fed fake news. No one knows what the hell to believe, right? So they’re putting down their last bastion of defense,’ McConaughey said.

McConaughey – who describes himself as a liberal – was born and raised in conservative Texas, and told Brand that he believes in the power of meeting in the middle. He claimed that both the left and the right have retreated too far into their own corners, saying: ‘I almost feel like it’s a move to say, “Let’s get aggressively centric. I dare you”‘.

[From Deadline & The Daily Mail]

Two white dudes making “both sides” arguments out of their asses, basically. I barely have words for how much this enrages me. As soon as I read McConaughey uttering the words “illiberal left,” I saw red. And let me say… in 2016, there was denial about the election because we were so f–king depressed. We couldn’t believe that this was America, that a slim margin of people in a handful of states pushed the electoral college over for this racist lunatic. And the conspiracies were based on factual reporting, all of which turned out to be much worse than we knew in 2016. Trump was always Russia’s useful idiot. Trump was always up to his ass in treason and ratf–king. He was literally coordinating with Russia for data dumps of hacked emails from the DNC. And to compare that with the millions of American Nazis who believe that, like, the ghost of Hugo Chavez rigged Dominion voting machines? Are you joking?

THIS IS INFURIATING.

Changes Uk Celebrates 10 Years With Fire And Ice Ball

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

157 Responses to “Matthew McConaughey condemns the ‘illiberal left’ that ‘patronizes’ MAGA voters”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Valiantly Varnished says:

    I love Russell but I am kind of tired of hearing white dudes discuss s-it from their privileged and narrow perspective. And Matthew…I’m not surprised by that comment. AT ALL. And it’s why I have always given him side eye

    • Mia4s says:

      Your side-eye was seeing through one of the best examples of the Hollywood myth making and breaking. Remember the Mccon-aissance? The Oscar win? True Detective? A very VERY carefully managed career move by agents, managers, and PR people. Very careful. Every project, every word said publicly, every family photo op. Managed.

      But then the actor starts to believe it was really about them. Their talent. Their personality. Their oh-so-important opinions as an artist. Plus, they should be making more money right? And only doing IMPORTANT projects, right?

      And that’s when we see the years after the Oscar win, which with few exceptions have been one fail after another. And suddenly their PR? Not so neutral and “charming”. Well. Well. Well.

      It’s honestly fascinating how carefully most of them have to be managed and manufactured.

      • Nuks says:

        Agreed, he’s always had extreme star power but he seemed to get the Angelina brand rehab, a very effective campaign that dovetailed with his aging. He’s kind of heading for the Sam Elliot Marlboro Man legacy.

    • minx says:

      McConaughey can go fcuk himself. He’s stupid and arrogant, defending stupid and arrogant people, so I couldn’t care less what he thinks.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        Right on!

      • clomo says:

        Go minx! I couldn’t care either, he is a fool using that word illiberal. Actually, he’s is big ole galoot in a mid-life crisis..

      • HeyJude says:

        He’s not defending, absolutely not. He’s personal friends with and has promoted the alt-right “intellectual” psychologist Jordan Peterson.

        McConaughey has outright one of them to be friends with that POS.

        Peterson is publicly actively against transgender individuals and as a psychologist calls them mentally ill, he’s against feminism saying it’s what causes fascism, and his entire body of work is dedicated to promoting social Darwinism and a kind of new modern eugenics through survival of the “fittest” in his mind (masculine white men).

    • whatWHAT? says:

      one side LITERALLY said “F*ck your feelings”.

      so….NO, there is no meeting half way, TRex. try to see the world from some place other than your incredibly privileged little ranch, dipsh*t. (PS – you know what these folks would say about your NON-WHITE wife, dummy?!)

      these people WILL NOT listen to facts or reason. that’s why people are condescending and call them stupid. because THEY ARE STUPID. there is no halfway, there is no redemption for them, there is no saving them. they will ALWAYS think that Hillary should be locked up for her pedophile ring in the Pizza Place basement, that Obama is a Muslim from Kenya, and that Biden hid in his basement because he’s senile.

      • Eleonora says:

        When one side is extreme right and the other centre to centre right, the middle is no middle at all, but very right.

    • Mary E Freeland says:

      I will never pay to see movies made by either of these okole’s ever again. I never did like Matthew or his TV commercials which suck, so boycotting his movies along with Russel’s will be easy.
      He thinks he’s important and that we should all listen to him.

      I prefer an actor to act and leave the thinking to voters on who they support.
      Both of these little men believe their own hype which is typical of large ego men with little johnson’s.

    • HopeFull says:

      Russel brand wouldn’t know a cult if it bit him on the arse, & the other one is just unworldly & ignorant. RB IS in a Kundalini cult, albeit on the outside a bit. Like tom cruise in CO$, Russel Brand financially supports the Kundalini cult, but is treated like a spokesperson rather than a peon in service. MAGA & Qanon ARE destructive cults that harvest & recruit online- those who are still in the grips deserve zero places at my table. Let’s talk about cult extrication, NOT hand holding. MM has given $$ to an organization that feels lack of a father in a child’s life is a disability – total ignorant gender bias. IF ppl listen to or “learn from” their podcast, maybe the SOURCE should be considered.

    • Quinzel says:

      Easy to have these opinions on the ‘illiberal left’ and ‘meeting in the middle’ when you’re bank account won’t be affected either way.

  2. grabbyhands says:

    Well this is disappointing, but not entirely surprising. I’ve been waiting for McConaughey to show his ass on this subject for a while and he absolutely delivered.

    No shock that he and Brand were jerking each other off in their little echo chamber about this.

    • Mac says:

      McConauhey should ask Santa for a dictionary. He doesn’t know what illiberal means.

    • escondista says:

      McConaughey is probably planning to run for office in Texas so he needs to appeal to the gross conservative majority here. Weren’t you once arrested for playing bongos naked in AUSTIN, sir? All these clowns are all too happy to use property taxes from us in Austin and they all want to visit Austin or go to school in Austin but then want to sh*t all over this place for being too liberal.

  3. Sunny says:

    We knew this already bc in a recent interview he was asked what his thoughts were on Trump.

    He replied by saying that he couldn’t give a concise response bc then it would be misconstrued and otherwise clickbait.

    Um, really?

    • Anna says:

      Exactly. When someone (usually a white person) says they “can’t give a concise response…otherwise it would be misconstrued” that is code for being a closet racist who is trying to manage PR on their bigotry so it doesn’t end up costing them. smdh All of these mfs are going to be cancelled in 2020.

  4. BearcatLawyer says:

    Hmmm…two white men who are the absolute LEAST LIKELY candidates to have suffered during the Chump administration thinks those who have been completely screwed over during it should be condemned for their entirely predictable reactions to Biden’s win. STFU. More than half of this country has PTSD from the torture of nearly the last four years and are literally holding their breath until January 20th. Yet these two geniuses somehow feel the trauma victims are the problem?

    B#$&*+s, PLEASE.

    • Exactly says:

      *mic drop*

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      Allow me to just cozy right up to you and rest my head snugly on your shoulder. I’m so in love.

      • BearcatLawyer says:

        Awww…thank you! I was feeling a little down this weekend, and this made me feel better!

    • Otaku fairy says:

      “More than half of this country has PTSD from the torture of nearly the last four years and are literally holding their breath until January 20th. Yet these two geniuses somehow feel the trauma victims are the problem? B#$&*+s, PLEASE.” Exactly this.

    • Nuks says:

      Exactly. I want my mental health from the last four years back.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      *standing and clapping*

      NO LIES DETECTED.

    • Traveler says:

      This comment says it all!!!
      I couldn’t even finish reading this tripe I am so sick of this sh!t argument. “No one knows what the hell to believe, right?”……………How about the bloody facts and what is going on in front of your own damn eyes.

      • HoofRat says:

        Every time I see a picture of either of these overrated organisms, all I will be able to think is “Babies in cages. Babies in cages.” Drop on your heads and bounce twice, “gentlemen”:

      • tealily says:

        Yes!! Everytime I see someone repeating a looney talking point I think “This just happened! How do you not remember what actually happened??”

    • Lucy2 says:

      Thank you! I am really sick of privileged white men like these two, who will always be fine no matter what happens, telling everyone else we’re overreacting to our basic human rights being assaulted.
      For over four years we’ve watched trump and his supporters be downright cruel, and yes, deeply stupid. So spare me your “be nice, time for everyone to hold hands” bullshit.

      • BearcatLawyer says:

        THIS. I wrote a comment essentially the same as yours on Facebook post made by Maria Shriver encouraging people to show compassion and seek understanding with MAGAts after Biden won. I called her out on the fact that real live people have been grievously harmed under this administration, and it was deeply offensive for her to ask victims to extend compassion to their tormentors. I was very pleased to see so many other people actively agreeing with me and echoing my call for her to delete such a ludicrous post!

    • Nikki* says:

      Thanks: eloquent!

  5. Emm says:

    Yeah when I read this pretty much all the love I had for MM went out the window. Once again, this isn’t disagreements about tax law or legalizing marijuana. Magas have shown time and time again that they are racists following a white supremacist off the cliff because they want to suppress anyone that isn’t white and thinks like them.

    The definition of white supremacy is the belief that white people constitute a superior race and should therefore dominate society, typically to the exclusion or detriment of other racial and ethnic groups, in particular black or Jewish people. I mean does that not describe the magas? Show me the lie?

  6. MissAnneRN says:

    This may enrage you, but there is absolutely truth in what he is saying. He is not making a “both sides” argument, he is pointing out that compromise cannot occur if you treat those who disagree with contempt. That is not a groundbreaking idea and it is certainly the hallmark of negotiation. Whether you agree with the opposing viewpoint is not the point it is treating humans with respect. Even if you believe them to be racist etc. Many Trump voters in my New England circle of friends are not racist. They just were able to tolerate the bullshit because they are staunch conservatives.

    • Kaiser says:

      being okay with racism is racism. And these MAGAts don’t treat anyone with respect.

      • Chris says:

        Yeah, we are what we do, not what we say. So if your friends are not openly racist, but perfectly fine with voting for a racist, then yes they are racist. We’re not disagreeing on the location of stoplights in a community, we’re disagreeing on human rights. I’m supposed to be kind to people who believe I don’t deserve bodily autonomy? That want to remove rights and protections for my best friend and her wife? That put my muslim friends at literal risk? Why is it that this argument is always for liberals or Democrats to be kinder, but there’s no overwhelming desire or attempt by Republicans to do the same for people they’ve openly derided. It’s very, I don’t want to give a crap about you, but you can’t be mean to me. The Republicans I respect didn’t vote for trump. They didn’t whine about people not being nice to them, they just did the right thing. I’m sorry but your friends feelings aren’t as important as other people’s human rights.

      • Nikki* says:

        Being OK with racism IS racism. Thank you Kaiser. Why can’t people get this? This is not a political divide; it’s a MORAL one.

    • Darla says:

      Nah.

    • Tom says:

      Trump is not a conservative. The MAGA people in your circle are racists. They are able to tolerate, support, and further the bs because they are somehow okay with enabling racist policies and rhetoric.

      They are okay with racism.

    • Cali says:

      “Many Trump voters in my New England circle of friends are not racist. They just were able to tolerate the bullshit because they are staunch conservatives.”

      This means they are racist. How can you tolerate and support racism, but Not be racist? This is also why people associate conservative with racism which is a shame because that isn’t the case.

      • MissAnneRN says:

        Because these people only care about money. They only care about their taxes and they look the other way and do mental gymnastics about the racism. I work at a school and attend the Young Americans for Freedom club meetings. I am telling you my observations. You can choose to ignore them, brush them aside, etc on the internet. However when you do this in negotiations, business meetings etc, it’s a total non-starter. Imagine going to work and collaborating with a coworker and just telling that coworker they are dumb, ignorant, wrong etc. no matter how much you might believe that, it certainly won’t get you very far in the collaborative process.

      • Mac says:

        Anyone who believes Democrats are a pedophile cabal that eats babies is dumb, ignorant, wrong, and steadfast in their belief. They have no interest in negotiating with anyone.

      • Becks1 says:

        Looking the other way when it comes to racism means you are okay with racism and like Kaiser said – being okay with racism is being racist. What’s the meme that got passed around during the past four years? About how Trump voters may not consider themselves racist, but they all decided that Trump being a racist wasn’t a problem and voted for him despite his racism (or maybe because of it.) They can tell themselves and tell others that it was about “the economy” or “taxes” all they want, but the reality is that Trump being a racist wasn’t a dealbreaker for them.

      • Crumpets and Crotchshots says:

        They are able to. Look the other way because they benefit heavily from white privilege– and in their actions they show that they will never challenge that privilege.

        This. Is. Racism. Period. Full stop.

      • H says:

        @MissAnneRN, I had that thought process in 2016, 2017 and maybe in 2018. Work from the middle, compromise, listen to the other side as Congress used to do. F that noise now.

        I’m supposed to forgive people who called Nazis in Charlottesville “very fine people,” while running down protesters? Or who appointed Beer Boy and the Handmaiden to the SC to take away Roe v. Wade and my baby brother’s right to marry his boyfriend? Yeah, no. The Senate and Moscow Mitch obstructed every good piece of legislation Obama put forward, even bills that would HELP Americans, all to stick it to the black guy. I’m done. You hang with racists, you ARE a racist.

    • Emm says:

      If the shoe was on the other foot there wouldn’t be any talk of this meeting in the middle BS. When it was the other way around and we lost the election after winning the popular vote four years ago did the magas reach out and try to understand where we, the majority, were coming from? No, they had the WH and senate and did whatever the eff the wanted too and called us all snow flakes if we disagreed.

      • Esmom says:

        Exactly. And still there’s no talk about “understanding the Biden voter.” It’s still all about Trump, whether he wins or loses. He’s destroyed any possibility of normal discourse and his base got right on board. It’s not about smart vs. dumb, it’s about reality vs. fantasy at this point with so many MAGAs and Trump himself.

      • Emm says:

        Thank you @esmom! We are talking about people who are willfully ignorant, people who are literally denying the existence of a disease, in the face of science and overwhelming facts and evidence, with their dying breath and we are supposed to reason with these people? That’s not going to happen and dump doesn’t want it to happen which is one of the many reasons he continues to set everything on fire.

    • emmy says:

      No. They are not tolerating racism, they are supporting it. Actively. What exactly are their conservative values if they can accept and support racism, misogyny, disregard for your troops, disregard for human life, and rampant fraud, treason, lies, and the open dismantling of your democracy?

      No really, I would love an answer. What do those staunch conservatives stand for?

      Matty McC and Russell can shove it. It’s these Magas who love to “trigger” the liberal “snowflakes”. Talk about condescension.

    • Myra says:

      If you support racism, it makes you a racist. If you support fascism, it makes you a fascist. There is no way around it. To defeat racism, you have to reject it completely. Appeasement has never been and will never be a successful deterrent of hate. Ethnic groups and minorities will always get the short end of the stick in these scenarios. This is why people are often reminded to put country over party. The bullshit your friends are tolerating is racism, which makes your friends racist (whether they believe themselves to be or not).

    • Pleasantly Lost says:

      @OP. I am with you. It is not that I don’t get pissed. It is not that I tell POC, LGBTQ, immigrants, and any other group targeted by MAGA a$$hats how to feel or respond. But ME as a white woman with privilege, yes, I believe I would be doing a disservice to changing this country if I stopped engaging, stopped discussing. This is at the heart of what Obama was speaking about the branding issue of Defund the Police. We cannot be the party that cries out for human decency, but gives a big *uck you to anyone who disagrees. I can honestly say I know people who really do not understand privilege or how trump is racist and it baffles me. I truly cannot understand, so we continue to talk – and they listen, they do. They are decent people who need to change and be better. I am not giving up.

    • Lanie says:

      You’re lying to yourself and to others about who and what your New England friends are. The party of Trump isn’t even about “staunch conservatism” anymore.

    • lana86 says:

      Also, what about ppl of colour who voted for Trump?… Are they rasists then?

      • aang says:

        Probably misogynistic, homophobic, evangelical (single issue abortion voter), or all of the above. Or rich.

      • DS9 says:

        LANA, POC who support Trump are racists, yes. Some are racist against other minorities, but most have bought into the myth that they can transcend race by conforming to racist expectations of POC and thus negate for themselves the effects of racism.

        They are wrong and they buy into white supremacy. It’s self loathing and it’s vanity because they believe they’ve done some magic thing that makes them immune to racism.

      • H says:

        I have a friend whose sister is black and voted for Trump. Friend’s sister has said Trump is “misunderstood” and as long as her 401K is “doing well,” basically f everyone else. Yeah. I got nothing.

      • osito says:

        I can’t speak about non-white 45 voters as a whole, but some anecdata from my own family leads me conclude that, yep, they’re racist. My family members who were non-white PoC voters for 45 and the two with non-white children or in interracial marriages are *definitely* racist, and classist, and have also bought into evangelical extremism dating back to the 80s, so in talking to them I hear all of the current “extremely conservative” talking points, which they apply to everyone but themselves and the people they “like.” Most of these family members aren’t black (there is one in there, though), but they are mostly PoC, and they parrot all of the awful things they hear Tucker Carlson or whatever pundit they like the best say; they worry about their retirement accounts more than almost anything except fetuses — though once that fetus becomes a child, they have very little sympathy for its entire life; they really hate most black people and liberal latinx people, and also can’t stand poor immigrants; so their stated reasons for voting were abortion, safety (from immigrants and black people, even though the places they live are blindingly white), and economics. They don’t think they suffer from internalized racism or that they are racist against people who are not of their race or ethnicity, but they do and they are because everything they do and say aside from “but I’m not racist” is racist. They also don’t see the difference between themselves and the economically elite — it’s that John Steinbeck quote about the poor/middle class not seeing themselves as the exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires writ large. They really and truly feel that “hurting the wealthy” with *taxes* is somehow hurting them.

        It’s hard to stomach, so I don’t interact with them often, but watching it happen is like watching a master class in how oppression actually works.

      • Deathbybacon says:

        they have internalized white supremacy

    • sara says:

      “Many Trump voters in my New England circle of friends are not racist.”

      Actually they are and you are blind.

      “Also, what about ppl of colour who voted for Trump?… Are they rasists then?”

      Absolutely yes! For example, Cubans are very very racist toward other Hispanic people, especially indigenous ones.

      • Darla says:

        Don’t forget misogyny. Which can trump everything with some people. If he grabs em by the p maybe that’s enough for some non-white people who voted for him.

      • Lorelei says:

        @MissAnnErn how do you reconcile the fact that your friends care more about their own personal wealth than about how people have been treated during this administration?

        Okay, so for argument’s sake, let’s say they’re not racist. But there are children in cages as we speak and Nazis openly marching in the streets and they voted for this man a second time because they care more about their tax rates? Why are people with these “values” people who you would even want to consider friends?

      • Lanie says:

        Yup.

        And many other “model minorities” use anti-blackness as a means of getting closer to the perks of whiteness.

    • MF1 says:

      @MissAnneRN: I think you are right that these people only care about their taxes. When I talk to conservative parents, their response to “Trump is a terrible human being” is always “but my taxes!”

      But here’s the thing: if you’re willing to tolerate racism for the same of your own pocketbook, then… that’s a form of racism in and of itself.

      • Chris says:

        You’re just trying to excuse racism and confusing discussion for capitulation. I live in a rural area in the south, I grew up in a different rural area. You don’t need to lecture me or anyone else all the way from New England about how to talk to “the other side.” You’re also disproving your own argument by railing against everyone here, you’re asking everyone to not criticize your friends while not trying to reach out to anyone here.

        I know independents and Republican 2016 trump voters who did not vote for trump in 2020. They didn’t need me to coddle them to realize he was a bad president or for them to do the right thing. The argument that only Republicans care about the economy is absolute BS for a lot of reasons. The national debt has gone down under Democratic presidents. Trump has severely damaged various industries like farming because he’s terrible at understanding tariffs and trade deals. Republicans keep crashing the economy and Democrats keep having to fix it. The only way you and your friends are happy with trump economically is if you are already wealthy or run corporations. Or you don’t actually understand economics. Also, arguing that you all care about money more than anything else isn’t the sympathetic argument you think it is.

      • Emm says:

        Totally agree. I had this conversation with my husband about his uncle who he lives and who “doesn’t like trump” but votes for him because he has his own business. To me that makes you worse because your know he’s deplorable but your privilege and selfishness take precedence.

    • Otaku fairy says:

      Staunch conservatives? If someone is so desperate to keep the LGBTQ community down and female bodies under religious/conservative control that they’re willing to put racists in power, they’re still doing something racist. And if It’s about taxes, racism for money is still racism.

    • El says:

      But again that goes both ways. I live in the GA and am getting phone messages about how we need to protect our state from the “radical liberals.” During the election I got to see bumper stickers like, “Vote for Trump, make a liberal cry.” I’m not going to find a halfway meeting point with someone who thinks I’m the enemy and looks forward to my suffering.

      • Eleonora says:

        The funny thing is that Biden isn’t radical. Trump is.

        What Americans call left is centre or even right of centre in many countries.

        It’s a very useful myth that the Democrats are so very leftist.

    • Watson says:

      I understand what he’s saying and agree with some of it. To belittle the people who vote for him, the people that make up the other half of the country isn’t good politics.

      HOWEVER, the last 4 years has abbbbbsolutely showed me that people who staunchly vote Republican regardless of the issue, and often against their own self interests, are actually dumb and brainwashed by fake Fox News.

      Democrats need to figure out how to deprogram these people, because you will still have to contend with these insane idiots voting in the next 4 years. And with the influx of Parler and even more right wing news stations…America has got an uphill battle ahead.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      People who are MAGA “for the money” pretend their wealth is not built on systemic racism. You cannot separate the two.

    • HK9 says:

      Endorsing racist behaviour shows contempt for real live human beings.

    • Elizabeth says:

      Missannern, I respectfully disagree. Biden won without compromising on racism. Compromise is possible in some areas, of course, but Trumpism isn’t something we have to tiptoe around. Biden denounced Trump and won. His “negotiations” for the vote and in the debates and campaign WON. So no I don’t think we need to both sides it. Our side. Our side won and our side can keep winning.

    • MsIam says:

      We can’t respect people who are okay with kids in cages, with trying to deny others the right to vote and on and on and on. Your “friends” need to open their eyes and get on the right side of justice and history. Otherwise, f—k em.

    • GuestWho says:

      Here’s what I learned growing up in one of the wealthiest, but supposedly liberal, part of New England: They’re racists. They think they hide it, but it always comes out at election time. Hell, in my lifetime, they still had sundown laws. That thought process didn’t go away – it just got bad for business to say it out loud.

      • Lanie says:

        Sundown laws and restrictive covenants so the neighbors can’t sell their houses to “the wrong kind.”

        Aka, “staunch conservatism.”

    • Eleonora says:

      The Democrats are already a compromise.
      They wouod be centre, maybe even right-centre here. Maga are no compromise. They go about as far right as right goes.

  7. Darla says:

    LOL

    MM is going to run for Governor IMO. This is a bunch of political horseshit to further that end.

  8. Penny says:

    The MAGAts that these two are so concerned about would like nothing more than to see my loved ones and me killed so I will be ‘patronizing and condescending’ to them all the live long day, thank you very much.

  9. Chris says:

    Lol at two rich white dudes lamenting the treatment of “working class” people. First of all, how do you know better than the rest of us? Democrats won the working class so just say what you really mean, you feel bad for white trump/brexit voters. They act like this difference of opinion is a theoretical debate because for them it is. They are entirely unaffected by the outcomes of elections. For everyone else, it has real life consequences. Hate crimes and white domestic terrorism went up with Trump. Babies in cages. And that was THE POINT with trump voters. The cruelty is the point. Stop asking Democrats to grant grace to people who are still trying to hurt them. It’s like saying to a victim of abuse, “well they were arrested, so you really owe it to them to be kind.”

    • Lanie says:

      And when they lament about the “working class,” they really mean the white working class. They don’t give a shit about the black and brown working class.

      • Alarmjaguar says:

        Amen, Lanie!

      • Chris says:

        It’s part of conservative propaganda to pretend that they represent the middle class when in reality they represent the wealthy. They also know they can’t say the racist part out loud so they say “working class” when they mean white people. If this discussion between these two celebs proves anything, it’s that we need to stop feeding into the idea that celebrities know more than anyone else about the general public or politics. They always believe they’re the smartest ones in the room and I really wish people would stop feeding into that.

      • Nev says:

        WORD UP.

      • Anna says:

        All of this @Lanie and @Chris !!!

  10. DS9 says:

    I was hoping he was referring to marginal liberals who are calling for us to enable and coddle MAGAs by “reaching across the aisle” and watering down our positions in the hope of making it more palatable to their racist asses but alas….

  11. Tanguerita says:

    I cancelled his ass a few years ago and coudn’t be any more happy about it. His whole “rich-relaxed-family-guy”-schtick is a dead giveaway.

  12. Insomniac says:

    What could be more arrogant than insisting that the election results be overturned because Trump didn’t win and he’s God’s chosen one, so clearly the rest of us who voted for Biden should just yield to them?

    I’m also getting really tired of this revisionist history where there was no reason to suspect any Russian interference in 2016 and Democrats made the whole thing up. This whole “both sides” mentality is going to be the death of this country.

    • Darla says:

      Exactly! They have reached the point where they believe they are ENTITLED to govern, and ENTITLED to a governing majority, that city votes don’t count, that any outcome other than their preferred outcome is fraudulent and fake.

      This is such a head-up-the-ass statement from these two idiots. I don’t know brand, but I never liked Mcconaughey. Never. Never found him hot. I was always put off by this guy. All this tells me is that I was right.

    • Mac says:

      MAGAs aren’t trying to throw out city votes, they’re trying to throw out black votes. It’s disgusting. I have always thought McConaughey was really uneducated and out of touch but desperate to be taken seriously.

  13. TIFFANY says:

    So this dude is okay with his wife and children being verbally abused because they are ‘Mexican’ (yes, I know Camilla is from Brazil) in the eyes of these idiots that he clearly wants to support.

    I knew Mcconaugheyheyhey was dumb. That’s it. That’s the reply.

  14. Nev says:

    another hottie down.
    wow.

  15. Lady2Lazy says:

    Thank you Kaiser because these 2 have not endured the travesties that common American people have suffered during the rage that Agent Orange unleashed onto the American public. They benefitted from his tax breaks, but they aren’t starving, aren’t about to be evicted or have suffered the emotional trauma that common American public faces each day. Agent Orange spoke ONLY to the underground racists that were dying of coming out, couldn’t hold their mouths of hatred any longer nor could they sit by and ALLOW POC to further themselves after the country and its society kept them down and silent for 4 decades. They have access to the best health care, are living in their multiple homes and flying around the country in their private jets. We have EVERY reason to call out MAGATS, because they destroyed families and 30+ years of racial injustices that will take years, possibly decades, to put back into the shadows again. Or until all of these racist MF’ers die and their offspring as well.
    And since they are preaching to Democrats about “reaching across the aisle”, why aren’t they condemning that glorious and enormous MF McConnell who STILL refuses to act on a relief bill that Pelosi has had at the ready for the last SIX months? I don’t see that MF teaching to an agreement, he only cares about an exemption for COMPANIES to NOT be held liable for putting their employees at harm from the coronavirus AND allowing for tax breaks on meals!! WTF??? This makes me so angry I could break my iPad!! When they start PAYING for meals, PAYING people keep their homes or PAYING for massive funerals to those who CAN’T afford any of these necessities, then possibly we will listen to them!! What balls these two white guys have!! And Russell, you lost your humanity card when you dumped your wife via text, so you can suck it!

  16. Rapunzel says:

    Why shouldn’t the MAGAts be patronized? They are loud, selfish children who are unable to critically think and get off on “owning” the libs. They refuse to acknowledge reality and are temper tantrum throwing fools.

    This makes we wonder if Matt’s political views are Trumpy… or maybe his wife or her family are MAGA?

    • Anna says:

      I have trouble seeing how his wife would be maga since she is BIPOC and has no doubt experienced the racism that these people dish out (including but not limited to MM’s own mother).

  17. Swack says:

    Read that MM wants to run for office in Texas. So doesn’t surprise me he is spouting this nonsense.

  18. Mina_Esq says:

    Omg what happened in 2016 is nothing like what is happening now. Hilary conceded right away. She didn’t hold rallies where she sought to overturn the election results. She didn’t promote attacks on democratic institutions. She didn’t file baseless lawsuits. Elected officials didn’t refuse to recognize Trump. Elected officials didn’t refuse to condemn violence against GOP. They used constitutional tools to investigate actual interference by Russia. They questioned his legitimacy but didn’t hold up transfer of power and didn’t incite violence. Matthew is garbage, and Russell is a pseudo-intellectual that I prefer to ignore.

    • Lena says:

      Exactly. We were in denial because we couldn’t believe our country had that many people who would support this clown but we didn’t deny he won the electoral college and therefore the presidency even without the popular vote. The fact that Russia put out disinformation to top the scales toward Trump was a FACT not that we ever tried to overturn an election. Geez. And as a Texan I really hope he doesn’t try to run for governor.

  19. HK9 says:

    Until they go after the racism from Trump supporters with the same amount of energy they can miss me with that shit.

  20. LaUnicaAngelina says:

    I listened to ‘Greenlights’ last month and mostly enjoyed it. There were some very inspiring parts but I always kept in mind that he was speaking as a white man going through life. I’m a first generation Mexican-American woman in Texas and the “red lights” we’ve encountered in life have been pretty damn different.

    It’s been pretty disappointing to hear him dance around political discussions especially since he’s put out there his interest in running for governor of Texas. Don’t throw that out there and then “both sides” the conversation, especially pertaining to trump.

  21. greenmonster says:

    Trump voters are a lot of things: dumb, racist, misogynist, sexist, bigots, Nazis… they don’t like to be called any of that. And they are not FED fake news, they CHOOSE to believe lies because it fits their narrative. They are not victims!

    But I am not surprised at all this is coming from McConaughey. He is trying to please a certain audience.

  22. Leigh says:

    His wife just did a social media video for the HEB grocery store chain in Texas. I wonder if he’s making a play for public office in Texas and this is his way of introducing the idea of a liberal governor/senator/whatever for Texas. Do we want Texas to finally flip blue? This might be the way to do it and start to bring MAGA voters into the fold. Please let my theory be the explanation for this!

    • Smalltown Girl says:

      I think he ansoloutely wants to be governor of Texas and will run as a Democrat but knows he needs to get some Republican/conservatives and this is way of doing it. He is trying to make himself look like the great unitedly

  23. equality says:

    Does he not realize there is a difference in the two elections? Trump lost the popular vote and only won by electoral vote; Biden won both. If Biden had won the way Trump had there would have been an even bigger MAGA uproar.

  24. TheOriginalMia says:

    Not a fan of either man. This just furthers my annoyance with them. I’m not being friendly with racists. Period.

  25. aang says:

    The idea that there are no poor people on the left, that somehow leftists are all coastal elites is bs. My step dad is a non college educated white man who lives in a rural area, collects guns, and he hates trump with a passion and has voted democrat his entire life. But he helped raise mixed race children, has a trans grandson, and is a proud union member. It gives him a perspective many whites in his position don’t have. My bio dad is native who lives on a reservation, also collects guns, and is non college educated. He thinks trump is a first class idiot but “is not surprised so many white people voted for him”. Maga is so not about class. Maga is about willfully ignorant anti intellectuals, racists, misogynists, homophobes, and religious zealots who think that equality is a threat the their power. About 50% of white people are one or more of those things and a surprising number of black and hispanic men as well. I’m not about class shaming, or dismissing the views of those without formal education. And I think that retrenching into idpol groups where we all hate on white people is not a smart idea, Tik Tok for example is a cesspool of “lets crap on white people for clout”. But the Maga people need to be called out for what they are and for the danger they represent to democracy and I don’t care if it hurts their feelings.

  26. Rebecca says:

    Matthew having a non-white immigrant wife and still fixing his mouth to spout that BS really is something.

    We’ve had FOUR YEARS, NO, TWELVE YEARS (because this was also said the same crap during Obama’s presidency. Even started the Tea Party bc they ~felt “left out” ) over every “liberal” newspaper and TV station running stories about these people and their “pain” and why they voted they way they did.

    This is so tiring.

  27. Betsy says:

    “Both sides” makes me want to drop kick the person saying it. Don’t worry, I have neither the knowledge nor the muscles to do that, but mentally that’s what I do to whoever spouts off that nonsense.

    It’s such an incredibly blinkered position that masquerades as magat woke.

  28. Implicit says:

    Cool no more of his crap movies for me

  29. TW says:

    Let’s see what they have to say in light of the MAGAts terrorizing the MI Sec of State on Saturday while she was decorating with her four year old son. These people (MM and Brand included) can all eat sh-t and die. F-ck them.

  30. Elizabeth says:

    Actually, it isn’t the poor and disenfranchised who are (were) voting for Trump. Multiple reports have shown, including last year in the Washington Post, that it’s a majority of the relatively well-off (“locally rich”) who gave him their vote. This holds true in every instance (male or female, college educated or not, rural or urban, etc.) EXCEPT… race / ethnicity. Black / Indigenous / People of Color Americans always vote overwhelmingly for Democrats.

    I’m pointing this out because there’s a persistent myth that disenfranchised white Americans (“ordinary working people” is very racialized) gave trump his victory (Russell and Matthew seem to believe that) and that just isn’t factually true.

    • Betsy says:

      Thank you very much!

      It disgusts me that narrative always shifts so that the GOP always has the moral high ground somehow. It doesn’t really matter in what way, they are always given the benefit of the doubt.

    • Eleonora says:

      I also think a lot more Democrat voters can be won.

      Not from MAGA voters, but from non-voters. Lots of Native Americans voted for the first time this election. There were registration projects set up by their fellows.

      Some tried to vote on the day anyway, but had registered too late.

      It is the people who didn’t vote, I think everyone should pay attention to, not the MAGA jerks.

  31. Jannie says:

    No McConaughey, no

  32. Crumpets and Crotchshots says:

    Actually, working class voters overwhelming supported democratic candidates, even in 2016. It was the bigoted white guys with money and white middle class women guarding their white privilege who pushed the most for Trump.

    • osito says:

      This is the take that should be written into the first paragraph of every think piece attempting to document the societal landscape right now. I also have some serious thoughts about how Brand and McConaughey are completely ignoring the racism that sits astride the American and British caste systems, but we all get the gist.

  33. Deanne says:

    Oh how helpful. Two privileged white men telling “the left” how they shouldn’t patronize people who are fine with racism, bigotry, misogyny, caging children, destroying the environment etc. MM and his brothers operate a canned hunting facility in Texas and he’s clearly setting himself up to run for office, so I’m not shocked to hear this from him at all. He can go to hell and so can Russell Brand. Since 2016, the MAGA’s have loved shoving the “he won, get over it libtard” garbage down everyones throats. Why now that Trump has lost are “the other side” supposed to be so respectful of their delusions about Trump actually winning the election and their sad feelings that they will no longer have a white supremacist in office?

  34. Maida says:

    ” . . . the actors attacked those in the entertainment community who are urging Trump supporters to passively give up on hope of overturning the election results.”

    WTAF. There is NO evidence that would warrant overturning the election results, as the verdict in 47 court cases indicate. At this point if you have “hope of overturning the election results” you are buying a big, fat, disproven LIE.

    The Republicans are just running the “birther” playbook again: 1) Put a big lie out there, 2) Claim to be “investigating” and looking for “evidence,” 3) Ignore actual evidence that is verified, 4) Keep on lying.

    • Chris says:

      Uhhhh trying to change the results of a democratic election is authoritarian shizz. Whining that we’re not entertaining their authoritarian fantasies to make them feel better is a hell of an argument.

  35. GuestwithCat says:

    You all put it so well!

    My husband and I were “centrist” back when it meant being in the middle of two ideologies that were different but made sense depending on different perspectives and situations. We didn’t believe in one size fits all solutions. We saw sometimes that Republicans had ideas that would work well for some times and places. Sometimes Democrats did. Now this all seems so “long long ago in a land far, far away.” Back when a Republican like John McCain and a Democrat like Barack Obama could find common ground sufficient to build a relationship of mutual respect and a sound working relationship despite deep ideological differences.

    Then over time, the Republicans became more and more obviously the party that didn’t want the people most in need in our society to have anything. Nothing. Not even food. The things some of my former friends who call themselves Christians have said about how “their hard earned money” shouldn’t go to shiftless grifters really showed their asses.

    Lol, and now that’s what we have running the damn country! What are the Trumps if not shiftless grifters? I can’t believe these people don’t have eyes to see that. Surely racism and classicism and goodness knows what other kinds of internalized bias plays into that level of blindness.

    Apparently nobody wants to see that “poor toothless addict living in the gutter” get a cent from their “hard earned money” but still they spout off how their Christian beliefs empower them to oppress LGBTQ people.

    I’m a devout Christian and I say look to what Jesus said about how we treat the least among us being equal to how we treat Him, the very son of God. But I don’t remember Jesus saying even once anything about disrespecting LGBTQ people. But my fellow Christians are going to die on that hill while people go to bed hungry and homeless because “My hard earned money isn’t going to reward people for their bad choices.”

    FWIW I do affiliate now with churches who just feed and take care of the poor and stfu about things people can work out between themselves and God as their own business.

    And these idiot celebrities have it all wrong. How dare they presume to speak for me. I was infuriated that enough people voted for a man who openly shows his contempt for women and says that with enough money and power a man can sexually assault us. I know plenty of honest good registered Republicans who had enough right then and there hearing that and left the party without a look back. Then soon the other forms of bigotry reared their ugly heads and more Republicans wisely fled. So there’s no excuse, none, for the ones who stayed.

    I can not and will not respect anyone who would vote in someone who stands for the kinds of behaviors that this creep normalized on his way to the highest office in the land.

    I will be civil as long as nothing political comes up for discussion. But respect them or feel anything but resentment and contempt? Nah.

    So far though, in the last couple of years especially, I have not seen a more sore bunch of “winners” than people who are a fan of Trump. Their worst most sexist misogynistic impulses have been legitimized and destigmatized.

    So even if you’re there trying to be civil and just get the work done and get away, they are the ones bellowing like wounded beasts. They stir the sh*t. Their favorite pastime is “triggering the snowflakes.”They complain in one breath about cancel culture and in the next breath fling sexist or racist overt or micro aggressions at you then try to gaslight you that you’re over sensitive when you stand up to it. These celebrities can stfu if they think we should accommodate that bs.

    THAT is the behavior empowered by anyone who voted for Trump for any other reason these guys are now trying to legitimize. F them.

    • Emm says:

      I want give your comment the biggest hug because I feel all of it! Every word. My husbands large immediate and extended family are all magas and also huge “Christians” and the fact that they can reconcile what this man and the GOP do to the least of us with the teachings of Jesus makes me sick to my stomach and I’ve lost all respect and most of my love for every single one of them. Half of them are on Parler and I have no doubt would sacrifice their first born for this monster. If they were as fanatic about Jesus as they were for this guy they would realize what they were doing. Most of them are also one issue voters, so anti choice, which I think is absolutely the most problematic, but it makes them feel so self righteous.

  36. Miranda says:

    No no no, “patronizing” is acting as an apologist for the racist, proudly ignorant Republicans, despite having the self-awareness to be ashamed to call yourself one of them. Which, come on, he very obviously IS a Republican. I think he’s probably a good example of someone who isn’t conservative in the “hates PoC and LGBTQ people” sense, but in the intellectually lazy sense. Being progressive means caring about the less-fortunate, and big-picture issues like climate change, which can feel overwhelming at times. It’s a lot easier to say, “this is too much for one person to make a difference, so f**k it.” This point of view is somewhat understandable, if a little selfish, for working class people who struggle to make ends meet, but when you’re a millionaire with a platform to use your privilege to help others and you still act like that? You’re probably just stupid and greedy.

  37. El says:

    This argument makes me want to scream. I remember complaining to my Trump voting father that Trump said anyone opposing the wall, which included me, was an enemy of the US. I don’t like the president labeling me as an enemy/threat to the US a country I love. He defended Trump by mentioning a particular speech of Obama’s where he was condescending. I looked up the speech and Obama basically said conservatives don’t hate liberals, they are under economic stress and looking for someone to blame and liberals are a good target. I get that that comes off as condescending to some, but to me it is not the same as accusing the other side as being enemies of the people. It is hard for me to find middle ground with people who keep stating how much they hate me. I wish I thought conservatives were dumb or uneducated, then there is hope for middle grade via education or understanding.

  38. Marigold says:

    I have mixed feelings. One, I am one of those condescending leftists. I fully admit that I think Trumpers are absolute idiots and I look down my nose at them. I’m very vocal about it too. On the other hand, I am from Texas and in the horse/ranch/farm world. I know some Trumpers that are VERY country and in the Christian cult who would give you the shirt off their back no matter what. Some are ignorant/racist/bigoted and I have I unfriended. A few I have unfollowed but kept as friends due to past extreme kindnesses they have shown me. It is confusing. How are these fundamentally good (but stupid -see the condescension?) people so blind? I also know a lot of rich Trumpers that piss me off to no end. And other smart people who are christian culters or are just from the south and I imagine are racist af. Those people were easy to jettison.

    It is hard to write off some of these people. And I do think the extreme left though certainly not as horrible as the extreme right could benefit from the center. I am against all extremes really. Though Most people think I am extreme left!!!

  39. Winterberry says:

    I worked in DC. I have traditionally conservative friends but believe me, for the last twenty years they have said nothing while racism, sexism and homophobia have festered within their party because if they were to call out the people who espouse these values they would lose their political strength as party. It is hard to imagine sitting down with someone whose silence brought us to this low, low point.

  40. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Surprise surprise surprise. You gotta keep on livin’… L-I-V-I-N.

    He’s always annoyed the hell out of me and he sounds like my husband (politically). I banished Mr. Mabs from my room this weekend until he got off the ancient diplomatic fence. Which, consequently, is only diplomatic if things aren’t really going their way.

  41. detritus says:

    Lots of comfortably wealthy men telling people to become more moderate, funny that. Wonder who not speaking up serves? The status quo and the already comfortable?
    No say it isn’t so

  42. Caty Page says:

    Easy to be open to racism when you’re white.

    Easy to be open to trickle down economics when you’re rich.

    Easy to be open to theoretical political debate when your safety and humanity aren’t on the line.

    When people of color tell you why your position is harmful, deciding you know best is some big arrogance energy.

  43. Pamspam says:

    I’ve given this a LOT of very deep thought and I think the reason we’re calling these people dumb racists is mostly because…they’re dumb racists.

  44. Erin says:

    I think Trump got a lot of votes from the pro-life crowd. Most of my husbands family voted for him and they don’t even follow politics. Being pro-life is ALL they care about…They are Catholic. This is a big problem for the Democratic party and I hope they are thinking about it in regards to future elections. I know not everyone who is pro-life or Catholic voted for Trump, I just know and know of a lot of hard corers who did. Sad.

    • Laura says:

      Thinking about what exactly? Compromising once of the fundamental platforms of the left (bodily autonomy) to appease stupid ass religious people? No.

      • Erin says:

        I didn’t mean it like that. I mean think about how they could try to get these peoples votes, not change their platform. I’m pro-choice.

  45. GuestWho says:

    I will never compromise with people who willing spread deadly disease, who shoot and drive cars into crowds of people they don’t agree with, who would rather dismantle the very fabric of our country to keep a racist in office. Fuck them all.

  46. holly hobby says:

    Ah Matthew I liked you better when you didn’t talk at all. Sorry there is no such thing as an “election do-over.” Do you tell that to your kids if they lost student council? A vote is a vote. One person has to lose. Spanky the loser unfortunately is a poor sport and now him and Matthew thinks that’s condescending when people called the game.

    Screw this. I expected better from him because his wife is a minority but I guess I had my hopes too high.

    • Veronica S. says:

      I think election do-overs are fine if there’s legitimately shady stuff at work. For instance, the shit that went down in the Florida senate election? Should absolutely be grounds for a revote. There’s no excuse to bow to that majority when it’s clear somebody had an agenda there to confuse and mislead voters with that mysterious third candidate who just HAPPENED to share a name with the Democratic one. However, where Trump was concerned there was no illegitimacy in the voting process. These states have been recounted and found repeatedly to be accurate.

  47. Liz version 700 says:

    Dude I already side-eyed you for those silly car commercials…but now I am done with your fake intellectual dumbassery

  48. Veronica S. says:

    I don’t think they’re entirely wrong that part of this divide is linked to class warfare and fundamental divide between cities and rural areas. I think that’s just…the story of history. The parochial perspective of rural communities has always been conservative and at odds with the denser population centers. There are definitely places where the American system has failed to address the poverty of less populated communities, and that has been capitalized on by the Republican party that seizes their anger and directs at an enemy rather than the wealthy oligarchs that actually control the country’s resources.

    Where I don’t agree with them is the matter of representation and the essential basis of the argument that a.) the problems lies with progressives, b.) the representative majority. The numbers they’re tossing around are not accurate – Trump supporters are not fifty percent of the country. His seventy million supporters are less than a quarter of the total population, and while, yes, there are likely far more than that actually vote, even across the board, their views aren’t reflected in polls, which show the overwhelming majority of people lean more progressive, particularly if you start going by age demographics. They’re failing to hit upon the essential fallacy that the American voting and representation system has created because it hasn’t changed in over two hundred years – one that favors land ownership over actual population demographics. The bulk of the US population lives in a handful of states, who are then forced to share the same level of representation as states with significantly lower population density. That gives an enormous advantage to sparsely populated communities over the cities and incentivizes voter suppression because you can essentially control Congress by maintaining Republican representation with a slim lead.

    Beyond that, I’m also frustrated by the lack of nuance in the conversation about the 2016 denial versus the 2020 denial over Biden. That’s an entirely disingenuous talking point. The anger over Trump was that he represented that second time a Republican president had won the election over a Democrat against the will of the populate vote, something that reflects a massive problem with the electoral voting system because it essentially allows for a handful of states to control the presidential determination. However, at not point was there ever an OFFICIAL denial of Trump’s candidacy. Democratic leaders were frustrated but still recognized him as the elected leader. That is a massive difference from actual state and federal representatives refusing to recognize Biden’s validity as president elect, which does enormous damage to the democratic process and people’s faith in the system. Unbelievable that somebody would even compare the two.

    Basically, these two need to take a goddamn seat.

  49. Jaded says:

    Matthew McConaughey is dumber than a tree stump and maybe he should have looked up the meaning of “illiberal” in the dictionary before he started waving it around to describe the “left”. The “left” aren’t condescending, patronizing or arrogant as he claims, neither are they known for their bigotry, intolerance, narrow-mindedness or sectarianism – descriptors of the meaning of illiberal. Last time I looked the “left” stood for social equality and egalitarianism.

    I can’t with these two, their faux-intellectualism is risible and MM’s fever dream is clearly governorship of Texas and eventually the Oval Office. Great, another rich celebrity politician wannabe who buys his way into the role.

  50. Jezebel's Lacefront says:

    Nah. There’s no meeting in the middle with people who hate me for existing. They can bite me. There’s no reasoning with hateful people and I’m tired of people who are almost never in the line of fire telling people that are or, at least, care for those people’s lives, to be reasonable.

  51. Lilly (with the double-L) says:

    The last article here about him, not ruling out running for political office, I bit my tongue with my usual McConaughey blech. I haven’t forgiven his whole “how sad for him if the Washington team had to change their name.” Blah, blah, blah tradition and my Native friends agree with me. People like this always have (insert whatever people of color are being discussed) friend to pull out of their back pocket who agrees with them. Never mind the 99.9% of other Natives who are diminished and hurt by the (thank goodness former) team name – more to go. He never does anything to change my mind about him. Rich white dude with no effort to educate himself, then supports his terrible views by aligning with others who feel the same.

  52. Jessica says:

    Two wealthy white men opining on “ordinary folk”? Hard pass.

    P.S. A huge part of the working class in the U.S. is made up of people of color, who overwhelmingly reject Trump. Golly gee, wonder why that might be? The working class is not just white people. Also: a huge number of MAGA people are actually economically stable, prosperous middle class white people. They would know that if they had actually looked at the data, and weren’t just talking out of their asses because the things they were saying “feel right” to them.

    The notion that only “wealthy liberals” are “lecturing” Trump voters ignores and erases a vast number of people, many of whom are people of color and are not wealthy at all. Fuck all the way off, guys.

  53. What...now? says:

    Thank everyone here for being so eloquent — you’ve all definitely expressed what I feel as well, which is (*&^*^&%&%*^*%!!!

    Joe Scarborough said this morning on TV referencing trumps rally in GA: “. . .He talked about how he’s a victim and we’re all victims, and this has been the Republican Party’s strategy now for the past 25 years. They’re victims, these rich, spoiled, white billionaires are victims. Rich, spoiled, white multimillionaires are victims. They’re all victims, people that fly around in private jets are victims. The people that belong to exclusive country clubs are victims. The people like Donald Trump who were born rich, screwed up, will die rich anyway because they have a safety net of daddy’s money, they have trust funds — they’re all victims.” . . .

    This is EXACTLY the mentality that McCON-a-he and Brand are showing here. . .that after 4 years of *F your feelings!!” That the LEFT has to show more compassion. . . .Yeah okay,
    I’ll just quote @Jessica above: “Fuck all the way off, guys.”

  54. MaryBeary says:

    Sit down and STFU Matthew and take your little friend Brand with you.

  55. Zaya says:

    Illiberal left? Cause the right is a welcoming bastion of love and tolerance. I was never fan of either RB or MM.

    It definitely looks like he has his eye on the Texas governorship. He also recently said that Hollywood is bias against Christian. Trite and false.

    How the left and right handled their loss in 2016 and 2020 isn’t comparable. Hilary accepted the results and conceded. Trump hasn’t done either of those things. The left didn’t threaten election officials because they didn’t like the results. Yes, we questioned the Russian interference because he literally asked them for help on tv. The right’s belief that biden stole the election has no bearing in reality. Trump isn’t *my* president, but I knew that he *is* president. The right still hasn’t accepted it. And yes, we questioned the electrol college. It was the second time a president won the election despite losing the popular vote by a healthy margin. And even though we won this year, most of us still wanna abolish the EC.

    The poor white working class might be trump’s most vocal supporters. They’re the ones who’ll go to his super spreader events. But in actuality the people who voted for him the most were the rich. So it’s not about economic anxiety.

    If you’re ok his his racist rhetoric and actions, then you are a racist. You may not think you are, but if it’s not a dealbreaker for you, it’s cause your racist. To those people, being called racist is worst than the racist actions themselves. The same for misogyny and homophobia.

    The people, who called us snowflakes and said f our feelings now want us to give them space to grieve. It’s always about the left having to compromise with the right, but never the other way around.

    • What...now? says:

      @Zaya: “The people, who called us snowflakes and said f our feelings now want us to give them space to grieve. It’s always about the left having to compromise with the right, but never the other way around.” 👏👏👏👏 Say it louder for the peeps in the cheap seats!!

      I’m not trying to be friends with people who are literally a-holes who don’t give two sh**ts about anyone but themselves, who live in some psycho made-up world full of conspiracies and are actively trying to destroy everyone and everything around them. Cry your maga tears into your yachts or your trailer, IDGAF, but don’t look over here for a hug.

  56. L4frimaire says:

    I get so sick of these conversations. Biden won by an extremely wide margin, and if this was any other election we’d call it a blowout and a mandate. Instead there is all this handwringing over Trump voters and their motivations, without calling out their racism, xenophobia and intolerance. What about the people who voted for Biden. Why did they vote, this so called illiberal left? A larger percentage of working class voters voted for Biden, but no one pays attention to that because a lot of those working class are people ,especially women, of color. Maybe some of the people who voted for Biden were literally voting for the right to exist and not have their existence voted away for “ religious freedom”, or have their reproductive rights and healthcare completely stripped away. Sick of these conversations and how they try use the working class to justify Trumps bigotry and corruption.

  57. khaveman says:

    Oh Russell, you’re over, sorry. MM I’m not surprised. He’s conservative Texas to the core. I don’t believe his liberal front. “Other 50 percent?” Don’t think so. 40. Uber-rich MM is so insulated from the effects of politics; he is probably concerned about his tax break he got early in Trump years.

  58. A says:

    I’m not reading anything he has to say on this subject. All I will say is this. I’m a woman, and a POC. I have a heart that is sometimes too tender, and I am naturally curious. I loathe the Trump base, but I always do try to hear them out, because I feel that that is the least anyone should do. The least. And I do think that many of them have genuine issues with the world and the way it is run, but they choose, for a variety of reasons, to believe that all of those issues are down to “””liberal coastal elites”””, rather than the reality, which is that they are victims of a world that has been exceptionally cruel to a lot of people. For example, it’s hard to not sneer at a person with multiple college degrees when for the entirety of your education, you’ve been made to feel like a dunce bc you didn’t learn in an environment that is objectively shitty. But the problem is that the issue is with the education system, not people who go to college. But Trump voters, many of them, don’t see it that way. And that’s due to a lot of factors, particularly misinformation, but also, many people aren’t equipped with the ability to do the actual work needed, and would rather rage because that’s easier. And that too is another thing people have to unlearn. Not resorting to your baseline response is an ability you can learn. Many people don’t. And so it goes.

    However, the problem is, all that I described above? That IS “meeting them halfway.” That is about as halfway as anyone can get, and more than anyone, particularly a white man, should be asking me, a WOC, to put up the work for. I do it because, as I said, I am perpetually curious. I always want to know what’s up with people, esp WHY they do what they do. That’s just me. I don’t expect or ask anyone else victimized by the Trump crowd to be so charitable. But I like to know how to convince people to see things differently and a lot of that is first understanding why they are motivated to do what they do.

    The problem with people like Matthew McConnaghey(??) and every other white male media personality who says liberals don’t meet Trump voters half way is that….this is not their definition of “halfway.” For them, half way is literally agreeing with the prejudices and acquiescing to them. They want people to agree with everyone else’s shitty takes and accommodate them at the expense of the most vulnerable. THAT is what they see as “meeting people halfway,” even though for the rest of us, that’s literally just taking it all.

    I am a good person, or at least, I like to think I am. I don’t like to write people off. I don’t think I’m a saint for that. I just don’t like absolutes. But I am a good person, and I try to be a kind person above all. I can talk to a Trump voter or an antivaxxer or a Brexiteer. I can coax out their concerns, their fears and uncertainties, and try to direct them towards how to address the real issues they are struggling with. I can move them away from smokescreens. I can try to be compassionate when I challenge people & their prejudice.

    But I refuse—REFUSE, to leave space for that prejudice. I refuse to let it go unquestioned, to let it grow unchecked. That is not “tolerance” that is just garbage. People who demand that demand a world where they are free to treat people like trash, but challenging that behaviour is labeled as intolerant and bad, and they label it that way to ensure they can treat whoever they like like shit without consequence. There is a vital distinction between what is actually meeting people halfway and what is not, and people like this muddy the waters, often on purpose, or at least bc they truly don’t understand the difference.

  59. SM says:

    Being in denial as being in shock about events/reality and having a struggle with comprehending the evens is different that the denial of reality or using the highest office in the and to pressure other elected officials to subvert the reality. Jesus. If you are going to make an argument about centrist politics at least get the facts straight or better yet, do not do it if you do not have the intelligence or knowledge to do it.

  60. Dany says:

    He wants to run for Texas Governorship that’s why he is pandering.

  61. Winterforever says:

    I knew it. He’s been low key defending right wingers for a while now. This is also not the right time to defend a group propagating conspiracy and refusing to accept a legitimate election. In my eyes they’re dangerous and underserving of respect.

  62. Little Ms. Right says:

    First, he’s an overrated actor.

    Second, Chiwetel Ejiofor was ROBBED and that Oscar© belonged to him.

  63. JustJJ says:

    Wow, two incredibly wealthy white men talking about “compromising” on: f*cking, racism, widespread income inequality on an unprecedented level, blatant misogyny, violent white supremacist terrorism, Neo-nazism, mass shootings… I mean, what is there to reach common ground on? As a member of “working class” America, with a college education, multiple professional licenses, and progression on a Master’s, I might add… I am insulted anymore when rich people talk about what’s best for me. What are they even talking about? It just shows how out of touch and incredibly privileged and ignorant they both are.