Tim Allen Has a Word of Advice for Trump's Fiercest Critics
Tim Allen offered some advice to critics of President Donald Trump: “Let’s stop banging on the pilot’s door and trying to pull the guy out of his seat while he’s still flying.”
The “Last Man Standing” star spoke with Entertainment Weekly in an interview released Thursday about the return of his popular program later this month on Fox following its cancellation on ABC last year.
Allen plays Mike Baxter, who was known for freely expressing his conservative political views on the show.
Art imitates life in that regard, as the actor tends to lean to the right politically, and was one of the relative few from Hollywood who attended Trump’s inauguration in January 2017.
Entertainment Weekly asked Allen how he feels about the president.
“It’s a very loaded question,” the sitcom star replied. “I’ve met (Trump) at the charity event years ago, and that certainly doesn’t fit with the man who tweets. I’ve met a lot of people in private whose public persona is a bit off.”
“My perception is, ‘let’s see what he gets done,’” Allen added. “Let’s stop banging on the pilot’s door and trying to pull the guy out of his seat while he’s still flying. You might not like how he’s flying the plane but let’s let him land it.”
He went on to explain, “Do I like him or agree with him? … I don’t know. Somebody got this NAFTA thing done. How did that happen? It’s like a slight of hand with this dude…The theater of this is fascinating.”
Allen acknowledged there is a lot of drama accompanying Trump’s presidency, but said he is achieving results economically and otherwise.
“Maybe it took this type of guy to get stuff done because it was so stuck in the mud,” Allen opined. “I’m just watching the theater of it and trying to keep my personal opinions out of it. What difference does it make whether I like him?”
The celebrity also shared some of his own political views, noting that he endorsed fellow Midwesterner Ohio Gov. John Kasich for president during the 2016 Republican primary.
“Politically I’m kind of an anarchist if you see my stand-up,” he said. “I’m for responsible government that actually does what we pay them to do. I’ve worked different jobs and I’ve had a colorful past and I pay a lot in taxes. I wish we got more for our money.”
He continued, “Whatever political party is for more responsible use of our money — that’s all I meant. … I don’t like paying people who never seem to do what I would do with my money. I always thought it would be funny if I had a little menu on my tax returns where I could tell them where my money would go.”
Appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in March 2017, just months before ABC canceled “Last Man Standing,” Allen said it is dangerous to be politically conservative in Hollywood, as he recounted attending Trump’s inauguration.
“This is like ‘30s Germany,” he added. “I don’t know what happened. If you’re not part of the group, ‘You know what we believe is right,’ I go, ‘Well, I might have a problem with that’ … I’m a comedian, I like going (off) on both sides.”
“Last Man Standing” premieres on Fox on Sept. 28.
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