TRUMP FANS FIRE BACK AT STREEP SPEECH
Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes award speech lambasting President-elect Donald Trump drew return fire yesterday from her target and others — but was cheered on by Hollywood and the White House.
Streep suggested Trump plans indiscriminate deportations, saying, “Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.” She cited an incident where “the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country” mocked a disabled New York Times reporter.
“It kind of broke my heart when I saw it,” she said. “I still can’t get it out of my head, because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life.”
Trump responded in a series of tweets, calling Streep “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood” and “a Hillary flunky.” He also defended himself against claims that he was mocking Times reporter Serge Kovaleski’s disability.
Sen. John McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, a Fox News host who has been critical of Trump, tweeted, “This Meryl Streep speech is why Trump won. And if people in Hollywood don’t start recognizing why and how — you will help him get re-elected.”
Former CNN talk show host Piers Morgan wrote, “I haven’t heard such elitist snobbery since Hillary Clinton branded Trump supporters ‘a basket of deplorables.’” Of Streep’s comments that, “Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose,” Morgan wrote, “I laughed out loud with incredulity. ... You’d be hard - pushed to find an industry that encourages more disrespect and violence than Hollywood.” Morgan also wrote that reports of alleged mocking of Kovaleski had been discredited, saying Trump used similar gestures in mocking able-bodied adversaries.
But White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest called Streep’s speech “a thoughtful, carefully considered message.” Hollywood also gushed over Streep. “There has never been anyone like Meryl,” Ellen DeGeneres tweeted. “I’ve never admired you more!” tweeted Sally Field. “Nearly without voice, her voice has never been so strong,” lauded Sharon Stone. “Thank you, Meryl,” wrote director Darren Aronofsky.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press subjected Trump’s “overrated” remark to a lengthy “fact check” on Streep’s career, while reporting her characterizations of Trump’s positions uncritically. The Committee to Protect Journalists, supported by Streep, reported a surge in donations.