As the Presidential election inches ever-closer, new characters are coming out of the woodwork to vocalize where they stand on either side of the political aisle.
One such character emerging from Hollywood — which arguably shouldn’t be looked to for political advice — is James Woods, the actor known for voicing Hades in Disney’s Hercules and roles in classic films like Once Upon a Time in America and The Specialist.
Woods — who most recently served as an executive producer for Oppenheimer — has been vocal in the past as a Republican and supporter of former President Donald Trump. The Emmy-winner’s support of Trump dates back to 2017, but has James Woods changed his opinion of Trump in the years since?
How does James Woods feel about Donald Trump in 2024?
By all accounts, James Woods remains a staunch proponent of Donald Trump, sharing social media posts supporting the former President as recently as May 2024. On May 14, Woods re-shared footage of crowds at a pro-Trump rally on X/Twitter, and went on to describe the turn-out for the event as “astonishing.” He said the support for Trump “could not be matched” by President Joe Biden, writing that Biden is a “fraud” and criticizing his policies relating to taxes, immigration and refugees.
“[Biden’s] puppet masters will once again cheat, and lie, and engage in crooked lawfare without the slightest regard to the constitution,” Woods wrote. “It worked in 2020, and they are going to keep on doing it.” Beyond the implication that Biden “cheated” in the 2020 election, Woods has elsewhere described the President as a “burrowing fiddler crab,” and wrote on May 11 that Biden is a “flip-flopping political hack.”
That sentiment echoed another post published by Woods in May, in which he shared an image of Biden accompanied by the caption: “the worst president in American history.” Woods’ target extends beyond just Biden, since he has this year voiced his opinions on Democrats more broadly. Also in May, the actor wrote that “Democrats will cheat,” and described San Francisco as “a Democrat shithole city.”
While all of these pro-Trump sentiments were shared this year, Woods’ support of the former President stretches back years. In 2017, he described the “hatred” for Trump as “pathological,” since he was supposedly willing to make his beloved country a better place. The following year, Woods revealed he was dropped by his agent — whom he described as a “political liberal” — seemingly as a result of his pro-Trump views.
Woods attached a screenshot of an email in which his then-agent said they’d dropped him because they were “feeling patriotic.” They continued: “I could go on a rant but you know what I’d say.” The fallout from Woods’ support of Trump continued in 2018, when he chimed in on an interaction between Donald Trump Jr. and comedian Chelsea Handler on Twitter/X. At the time, Handler tweeted that she couldn’t wait for Trump Jr. to “flip on his father.”
Taking aim at her comedy career, Trump Jr. responded by referencing Handler’s canceled Netflix show, saying the comedian should “stay away from politics” since there’s “no reason to suck at two things.” In what could only be described as a deeply misogynistic response, Woods re-shared Trump’s tweet with the caption: “[Handler] has sucked at way more than two things.”
Woods’ support of Trump seems to reflect his broader, far-right views. In 2017, he made reference to the age gap in the queer film Call Me By Your Name, saying the gay relationship “quietly chip[ped] away the last barriers of decency.” Armie Hammer, who portrayed one half of that romance alongside co-star Timothée Chalamet, responded to Woods’ tweet by referencing that latter actor’s documented history of dating younger women.
Granted, Hammer should perhaps not be consulted as the moral compass of ethical relationships (you know, given his own history), but he wasn’t the only actor to call out Woods’ hypocrisy. Amber Tamblyn also responded to Woods’ Call Me By Your Name tweet, alleging that the actor once tried to “pick up” both her and her friend while they were 16.
This furor adds to a history of Woods’ far-right views, which have more recently included posts about the COVID-19 vaccination, the supposed ‘woke cancellation’ of the character of Tinkerbell, and misgendering trans people. So, it’s safe to say that as of 2024, James Woods is still very much pro-Trump.