Jon Voight - Political Views

Political Views

Voight's first roles were almost uniformly counter-cultural. In his early life, his political views were liberal and he supported President John F. Kennedy, whose death "traumatized" him. He also worked for George McGovern's voter registrations efforts in the inner cities of Los Angeles. Voight actively protested against the Vietnam War. In the 1970s, he made public appearances alongside Jane Fonda and Leonard Bernstein in support of the leftist Unidad Popular group in Chile.

In a July 28, 2008, op-ed in The Washington Times, he wrote that he regretted his youthful anti-war activism, calling it the result of "Marxist propaganda." He pointed in particular to the massive human rights abuses in Vietnam and Cambodia after the American withdrawal. Voight wrote about his political transformation:

We were traumatized in the Sixties and all of that behavior — the dancing in circles, the smoking pot and saying "all we need is love" — it was because we couldn't identify evil; we couldn't believe in evil — we didn't want to believe in evil so we just hid from it. It was a very disturbing time ... overwhelmingly, it was a very bizarre, selfish and hedonistic philosophy that wasn't very helpful. It attacked the family — the attack on the family was very severe because not only was there this idea of and that would solve the world's problems, which gave rise to teen pregnancy, but also this idea not to trust anyone over 30. This was from people who were over 30 and bombed out of their minds with every kind of drug they could put into their system. Then there was the romanticization of the drugs — there were people coming out with scientific evidence that increase your enlightenment — it was devastating. Today, I find that people look back at that time in a romantic way and that's as dangerous as anything is. It wasn't a romantic time. It was a time of great distortion.

On April 27, 2007, Voight spoke about criticism of George W. Bush in an interview with Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor: "And they — what I hear, you know, talking about our president. When I hear people saying quite unthinkable things about our president, when I see our president defaced, which is defacing our country. He's the leader of our country. He's the leader of the free world. It — my heart is very heavy."

Voight endorsed former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for the 2008 Republican Party nomination. He contacted Giuliani's California finance chairperson and asked to work on the campaign. According to The New York Times, his role in Giuliani's group "brought some high-wattage celebrity to a campaign that was in distress." He worked a variety of supporting side roles in the Florida primary, such as warming up crowds. He stated on that trail that New York City had become a much safer city in the 1990s, once remarking, "God sent an angel; his name was Rudy Giuliani." In another interview in Miami with AventuraUSA.com, Voight said he first met Giuliani "years ago" at a movie premiere in New York City and the main reason for his support was Giuliani's public poise in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

In March 2008, Voight appeared at a rally aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, California, for the kick-off of Vets for Freedom's National Heroes Tour. In an April 11, 2008, interview on the CNN Headline News Glenn Beck Show Voight stated that he had thrown his support to Republican Senator John McCain for President.

In May 2008, Voight paid a solidarity visit to Israel in honor of its 60th birthday. "I'm coming to salute, encourage and strengthen the people of Israel on this joyous 60th birthday," said Voight. "This week is about highlighting Israel as a moral beacon. At a time when its enemies threaten nuclear destruction, Israel heals." On July 28, 2008, he wrote an editorial in The Washington Times critical of then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Also in the article, Voight accused four-star General and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Wesley Clark of having "shame upon him, having been relieved of his command" and said that Clark "has done their bidding and become a lying fool in his need to demean a fellow soldier and a true hero." In August 2011, Voight visited terror victims at Soroka Medical Center in the Negev after attacks from Gaza.

In September 2008, Voight appeared in a video from the Republican National Convention admonishing viewers to support the United States military. He also provided the narration for a video biography of Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, that appeared on McCain's campaign website. Voight was a guest at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

On June 8, 2009, Voight hosted a Republican congressional fundraiser, and he also made his own speech within the event, criticizing President Obama. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised Voight's speech. McConnell told Voight about his speech: "I really enjoyed that." On June 10, 2009, on the topic of Voight's fundraiser speech, Glenn Beck told Voight in a radio interview: "It's good not to be alone. It's good not to be alone." In a June 13, 2009, article, New York Times columnist Frank Rich said of Voight's speech, in which Voight called to "bring an end to this false prophet Obama," that: "This kind of rhetoric, with its pseudo-Scriptural call to action, is toxic."

When appearing on Governor Mike Huckabee's Fox News talk show, Voight said Obama was arrogant, caused civil unrest and stood for all that this country was against during its past. He went on to state:

"I'm here to validate all the millions of people who are opposed to the Obama healthcare. We're witnessing a slow and steady takeover of our true freedoms. We're becoming a socialist nation, and Obama is causing civil unrest in this country ... The stimulus didn't work ... We're being told what cars we can drive, how much we can make ... Obama has made this a personal crusade now ... As we can see it really is about him. He is arrogant and he's adamant that he's going to get this passed ... He's trying everything, even the so-called God card. If you love God, he tells us, then it's your duty to vote this healthcare bill in ... They're taking away God's first gift to man. Our free will."

Voight's comments drew harsh criticism from The Dallas Morning News columnist Rod Dreher, whose article appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on September 16, 2009. Wrote Dreher:

Last weekend, I tuned into a Fox program hosted by the avuncular former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, of whom I am a fan. There sat actor Jon Voight, staring gravely at the host, who praised the thespian's "courage." ... Voight then accused the president of trying to depose God and deify himself — as, according to the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist will do. It may sound ridiculous — after all, who looks to celebrities for political wisdom? — but it's deadly serious to millions of Americans. To his great discredit, Huckabee, a pastor, let this crazy talk pass unchallenged.

In a letter released on September 11, 2009, Voight accused his former Coming Home co-star, Jane Fonda, of "aiding and abetting those who seek the destruction of Israel". Fonda was one of more than 50 celebrities who signed an online petition letter by John Greyson in which Greyson said he would pull his film Covered from the Toronto International Film Festival in protest over the Festival's "inaugural City-to-City Spotlight on Tel Aviv". Greyson's belief was that the spotlight on Tel Aviv would mean that the Festival was facilitating a propaganda campaign for the Israeli government.

Voight's letter said in part:

... people like Jane Fonda and all the names on that letter are assisting the Palestinian propagandists against the State of Israel. ... Jane Fonda's whole idea of the 'poor Palestinians,' and 'look how many Palestinians the Israelis killed in Gaza,' is misconstrued. Does she not remember what actually took place in Gaza? Did Israel not give the Palestinians of Gaza the hope that there could be peace? In response, did Hamas not launch rockets from Gaza into Israel, killing many innocent people? This seems to me to be another one of Jane Fonda's misplaced 'patriotic' duties toward the wrong people. I was in Israel. I saw the rockets coming down on Sderot, and visited many families who lost their loved ones. How long can a democratic country keep from defending itself? Time and again, offered the Palestinians land. They always refused. They don't want a piece of the pie, they want the whole pie. They will not be happy until they see Israel in the sea.

Fonda later explained that she had regretted signing the petition, saying that she had signed the letter ...

... without reading it carefully enough, without asking myself if some of the wording wouldn't exacerbate the situation rather than bring about constructive dialogue ... In the hyper-sensitized reality of the region in which any criticism of Israel is swiftly and often unfairly branded as anti-Semitic, it can become counterproductive to inflame rather than explain and this means to hear the narratives of both sides, to articulate the suffering on both sides, not just the Palestinians. By neglecting to do this, the letter allowed good people to close their ears and their hearts.

In November 2009 Voight was a featured speaker, at a Tea Party protesting the healthcare reform legislation, and again at a rally outside the capital on March 20, 2010. During his speech at the capital, Voight stated the White House was using "radical Chicago tactics" in hopes to pass health care reform.

In June 2010, the Washington Times published An open letter to President Obama from Jon Voight, calling President Obama a liar and promoter of anti-Semitism.

In January 2012, he endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican 2012 nomination.