LOS ANGELES – Hollywood icon and lifelong activist Jane Fonda, 87, issued a stark warning Tuesday about President Donald Trump’s second term, accusing him of consolidating authority in unprecedented ways that threaten the nation’s democratic foundations. In a CNN interview with Dana Bash, Fonda declared, “Trump is amassing power in a way that will destroy our democracy,” launching a new Hollywood coalition to combat what she sees as an assault on free speech and civil liberties.
Fonda’s alarm bell rang amid Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and federal shutdown standoff, which has furloughed 2.1 million workers and prompted National Guard deployments in cities like Portland and Chicago. She cited specific grievances: “No president has ever sent troops into Democratic cities across the country saying ‘full force.’ No president, as far as I know, has tried to control the Federal Reserve, the central bank.” Fonda, whose activism spans climate justice to Vietnam War opposition, likened the moment to the McCarthy era, prompting her to revive “The Committee for the First Amendment”—a group her father, Henry Fonda, co-founded in 1947 to defend Hollywood against blacklists.
The committee, now boasting over 500 signatories including Mark Ruffalo, Alyssa Milano, and Pedro Pascal, pledges “creative nonviolent non-cooperation” against censorship. “We should all be very scared,” Fonda urged, her voice trembling with urgency. “I don’t feel that our leaders are doing what they need to do.” She criticized Democratic figures as “not good enough,” calling for bolder resistance to Trump’s probes into critics like James Comey and Letitia James.
The White House dismissed her as “Hanoi Jane,” invoking her 1972 Vietnam protests, and insisted Trump champions free speech. Republicans, including Rep. Jim Jordan, mocked the effort as “Hollywood hysteria.” Yet Fonda’s coalition taps into broader anxieties: A Gallup poll shows 55% of Americans fear democratic erosion under Trump.
Fonda’s stand, rooted in familial legacy, spotlights a cultural counteroffensive. As midterms loom and the shutdown drags into day 19, her words resonate: Power unchecked invites peril. For Hollywood’s conscience, the fight is just beginning—democracy’s defense, one script at a time.
