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Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks has never been shy about his political leanings. As he hosts the primetime special Celebrating America as part of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, it should come as no surprise to find out that he’s a Democrat. Here is what he has said on the subject over the years.
Hanks Endorsed Barack Obama in 2008
During the 2008 presidential election, Hanks made a video for his MySpace (yes, MySpace) page endorsing then-Senator Barack Obama in his bid to become president of the United States.
He opened with a joke, cracking, “As an official celebrity, I know my endorsement has just made your mind up for you.”
But Hanks went on to give a full-throated endorsement of the future president, saying, “History with a capital H is going to be made this November no matter who the president-elect is. I want Barack Obama to be president of this country, a country that once said that people of his skin color were only three-fifths of a human being.
“My support for Obama isn’t just about breaking boundaries. It’s because of his character and vision and the high road he has taken during this campaign. He has the integrity and the inspiration to unify us, as did FDR and Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy and even Ronald Reagan when they ran for the job. I want the president of my country to embody the America I have been waiting for — one where leaders address challenges with candor and truth is their basis for policy.”
Hanks also endorsed President Joe Biden in his bid for the presidency in 2020. And in 2016, Obama awarded Hanks the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the country’s highest civilian honor. At the time, he said of Hanks on the White House website, “Tom Hanks is one of the Nation’s finest actors and filmmakers. He has … left an indelible mark on American film. Off-screen, as an advocate, Hanks has advocated for social and environmental justice, and for our veterans and their families.”
Hanks Was Outspoken Against Donald Trump
In a BBC interview leading up to the 2016 presidential election, Hanks was asked about Donald Trump and called him a “self-involved gas bag.”
“Look, if I have an abscessed tooth and I need to see an oral surgeon, I’m not going to go to the guy who says, ‘You know what, I think I could be a pretty good oral surgeon.’ I’m going to go to someone who has been doing it for 30 years and has handled it a million times … I’m voting for Hillary Clinton because I think she is wildly, wildly qualified to be the president of the United States, at the same time dealing with the one damn thing after another that the world has handed her,” said Hanks.
“If he wins … then it’s a dark day for the planet Earth, don’t you think?” he added.
Celebrating America airs from 8:30 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET across multiple channels including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, BET, and PBS, plus it will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNOW from Fox, AT&T DIRECTV and U-verse, and the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s social media feeds.
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