Actor Richard Gere is concerned about the United States and fears even the words of the Dalai Lama could not change who President Donald Trump rules.
Gere talked about the country during an interview with Variety about his new documentary “Wisdom of Happiness,” which features comments from the Dalai Lama, Fox News reported.
The “Pretty Woman” actor said Wednesday that after hearing the Dalai Lama speak, he realized the U.S. was on the “very wrong track.”
At the same time, he also realized that the words of the Tibetan spiritual leader could change Trump.
“I don’t know that it would touch him,” Gere said. “I would hope that it would. I would pray that it would. But boy, I don’t know how you explain what he has done to this country, what it feels like to be an American now, 10 or 11 months in. It’s just astonishing. It’s beyond what anyone could ever imagine.”
He added it was up to Americans to elect those who could help make the world a better place.
“If we want a world a certain way, then we have to elect leaders who have a similar vision to us and will lead us towards this higher level of possibility — who we are as individuals and how we can create a world, a society where people can live with each other rather than this battlefield every day, all day long, with the craziness,” Gere said. “Especially, as I say, coming from this very crude mentality that is now in our leadership.”
This is not the first time Gere has spoken out against Trump. In September, Gere said Trump “almost destroyed our country” in just six months.
“We have a president who’s completely — he’s not only crazy. He’s a dark, dark presence. And it’s happened so quickly,” Gere said in September.
In February, Gere called Trump a “bully and a thug.”
“Authoritarianism takes us all over,” Gere said. “We have to be vigilant. We have to be alert. We have to be energetic. We have to be brave. We have to be courageous. And everyone who’s watching this – in the Spanish-speaking world and elsewhere – we have to be willing to stand up, tell the truth, be honest. And there’s a place in all of our lives for basic kindness, for basic love and understanding.”
