Will these celebs really leave the US over Trump?

Steerpike I 7 November 2024 I Spectator World

Despite receiving the backing of a whole host of A-listers, including Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris still managed to lose the 2024 US election. Donald Trump will soon return to the White House – but he may not be the only one preparing a big move. Over the course of the campaign, a number of top celebs claimed they would up and leave the States if Trump emerged victorious, while film star George Clooney even affirmed he would ‘get out of politics and go back to television’ if The Donald got in. So who might be considering a change of scene, and will they go through with it now the reds have won?

Cher

The ‘Goddess of Pop’ confessed to the Guardian last year that her upset at Trump’s first presidency was such that she had suffered health issues as a result, insisting she ‘almost got an ulcer the last time’. Golly. Lamenting the possibility of a Republican win in this year’s poll, the singer : ‘If he gets in, who knows? This time I will leave.’ Mr S isn’t convinced, however. In 2015, Cher expressed similar sentiments, announcing that ‘if [Trump] were to be elected, I’m moving to Jupiter’. Almost a decade later and the American actress still resides in California. All talk, no action…

Amy Schumer

The first time Trump ran to be President, Schumer was adamant in an interview with the BBC that if the Republican choice won, ‘my act will change, because I will need to learn to speak Spanish – because I will move to Spain or somewhere’. Yet, rather curiously, Schumer did not in fact permanently move away from the States during Trump’s first presidency. The American comedian has not yet broken her silence on The Donald’s second victory, but Mr S can’t wait to hear about which European country she will threaten to relocate to now.

The Trump-Schumer dislike certainly appears mutual. The then-president himself hit out at the comedian’s US senator cousin in 2017 after he gave an emotional speech about the US travel ban on certain Muslim-majority countries, with Trump dubbing him ‘Fake Tears Chuck’. It seems rather fitting that he’s related to ‘Fake Threats Amy’, eh?

Whoopi Goldberg

The US TV personality has quite the history of suggesting she would leave Trump’s America. Back in 2016, Goldberg said about the prospect of a Republican victory: ‘Maybe it’s time for me to move, you know. I can afford to go.’ Yet Goldberg stayed put. Will she finally make the move now? Perhaps some more goading from Trump might do the trick. Earlier in the year the now president-elect shared a meme suggesting the TV star might relocate to Canada if he won. ‘Canada doesn’t want you Whoopi,’ he sneered. ‘NOBODY DOES!!!’. Ouch.

America Ferrera

After it became clear the Republican candidate had won the race for the White House, an insider told the Mirror that the Ugly Betty star is said to be ‘sick that Donald Trump is president again’. ‘She is devastated that Kamala lost,’ the source said, adding: ‘She thought the country she lived in was better than that.’ Ferrera, who also appeared in the recent hit movie ‘Barbie’, is said to be looking to relocate to the UK as a result. Will she up and move? Watch this space…

Tommy Lee

The M?tley Crüe drummer has previously flirted with the idea of jetting off elsewhere in the event of a Trump win. In 2020, Lee told the Big Issue: ‘Dude, I swear to God if [Trump wins] then I’m coming over to visit the UK – I’m out of here. I’ll go back to my motherland, go back to Greece and get a house on one of the islands.’ Lee stuck around throughout the Biden presidency, but will he honour his pledge to move away now Trump is returning to the White House? Mr S wouldn’t be so sure…

Bruce Springsteen

About the prospect of The Donald being re-elected, Springsteen didn’t hold back in 2020, telling Australia’s Daily Telegraph that he would move down under from New Jersey if the Republican candidate saw success. ‘If Trump is re-elected, if by some happenstance he should be, I’ll see you on the next plane,’ Springsteen promised. So should Oz prepare to welcome the hit country singer anytime soon? Stay tuned.

Minnie Driver

The American-British actress lived in Los Angeles for almost 30 years before deciding on making the transatlantic trip to settle in London. While Driver has hinted she could move back stateside at some point, the actress was adamant in a Times interview this year: ‘If I lived in a red state, no – I couldn’t.’ Will the actress stick to her word? Or, like with her celebrity colleagues, is this just another empty promise?

Author: Steerpike