Celebs Who Can't Stand Barack Obama

For eight years, Barack Obama served in America's highest office as president of the United States, first elected in 2008 and then re-elected for a second term in 2012. As the first-ever Black president in the nation's history, Obama not only broke a barrier that had stood for more than 200 years but also delivered some significant accomplishments, including the Affordable Care Act, ordering a military operation that took out Osama bin Laden, and much more. 

Handily winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote, it's clear that he had millions on his side. On the flip side, though, there were also many millions who voted against him. Reasons for opposing Obama ran the gamut, ranging from differences in political ideology to outright racism — and sometimes even a combination of the two. 

And while Obama certainly had oodles of celebrity supporters (a lengthy list including the likes of Hollywood director Ron Howard, NBA legend Magic Johnson, and "The Nanny" herself, Fran Drescher), there were also those stars who didn't care for him. To find out more about that latter group, read further for a roundup of celebs who can't stand Barack Obama. 

Movie star Matt Damon was among Barack Obama's most fervent Hollywood supporters during his first presidential run — in fact, the "Bourne Identity" star actively campaigned for Obama. "We need change in this country and now is the time to be sure that happens," Damon told People (via HuffPost).

After doing his part to help Obama win the election, Damon eventually became disenchanted with the new president. He let his feelings be known publicly when asked, during a 2011 appearance on CNN's "Piers Morgan Live," whether he thought Obama was doing a good job. "No," Damon bluntly responded. "I really think he misinterpreted his mandate." Later that year, Damon doubled down when interviewed by Elle. "I've talked to a lot of people who worked for Obama at the grassroots level," Damon said. "One of them said to me, 'Never again. I will never be fooled again by a politician.'" He also questioned Obama's ability to lead. "Imagine if we had a leader," he mused.

A few years later, after Obama had been elected to his second term, Damon was still fuming. However, he told The Guardian that, as ineffective as he felt Obama had been, it was still better than having a Republican in the Oval Office. "As disturbed as I am by a lot of the things that Obama has done and is doing, I would not have preferred a Romney presidency, that's for sure," he said. "The alternative is even more frightening."

While fans have witnessed Angelina Jolie steal the screen over the years, they've also noticed that she's had her issues with Barack Obama. It was clear in a 2009 op-ed that the actor, director, and humanitarian wrote for Newsweek, criticizing his administration's policy in relation to Darfur. As she wrote (via Us Weekly), "When the administration says it intends to work to 'improve the lives of the people of Darfur,' I would like to know what that means, besides the obvious point that their lives could hardly get worse."

While that was certainly far from supportive, it was nothing compared to what her father, right-leaning Oscar-winner Jon Voight, had to say about America's 44th president. In a video statement that he issued to a Fox News show (via The Hollywood Reporter), Voight gave Obama the verbal equivalent of a WWE body slam. "Five years ago, I stated that Obama would take the country apart piece-by-piece, that he would cause a civil war in this country," the Oscar-winning actor stated. "In hindsight we can see how many things have come to pass."

He went on to criticize the entire Democratic party, under Obama's leadership, for embracing ideas he believed to be socialist. "The Democrat party has become a very negative force," Voight added.

Having established himself as a movie star thanks to tough-guy roles ranging from the gun-slinging Man with No Name in a trio of groundbreaking spaghetti westerns to a Magnum-carrying cop in the "Dirty Harry" movies, Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood went on to a celebrated behind-the-camera career as a director. Along the way, Eastwood has amassed his share of celebrity detractors, occasionally due to his conservative views. 

Those opinions were on display when Eastwood delivered a speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Delivering what was possibly one of the weirdest political speeches in modern memory, Eastwood addressed his remarks to an empty chair, which he'd intended to symbolize President Barack Obama's absence in leading America. "It's a national disgrace," Eastwood explained via CNN. While Eastwood may have felt the empty chair illustrated his point, viewers watching on TV were more confused than convinced. "I'd feel better if I knew for sure that Clint doesn't see anyone in the chair," tweeted Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, while former sitcom star — and future Trump supporter — Roseanne Barr, tweeted, "clint eastwood is CRAY."

While Eastwood ultimately regretted his empty-chair tirade, he subsequently displayed his disdain for Obama when he narrated a TV spot attacking him. "When someone doesn't get the job done, you gotta hold him accountable," Eastwood declared in that political ad.

Historically, boundary-pushing late-night comedy show "Saturday Night Live" has often been more kind to Democratic presidents than their Republican counterparts, but former cast member Jon Lovitz bucked that trend. During a 2012 onstage interview with "Clerks" director Kevin Smith, Lovitz took aim at Barack Obama for raising taxes for the wealthiest Americans — a group that included, presumably, himself. "This whole thing with Obama saying the rich don't pay their taxes is f***ing bulls***, and I voted for the guy and I'm a Democrat. What a f***ng a**hole," Lovitz said in his tirade.

"First they say ... 'You can do anything you want. Go for it.' So then you go for it, and then you make it, and everyone's like, 'F*** you,'" Lovitz continued, citing Obama as an example of a self-made guy who rose from humble circumstances to attend Harvard and then become POTUS. "He's amazing. He had nothing ... And now he's like, 'F*** me and everybody who made it like me,'" Lovitz said of Obama.

Lovitz then took a shot at the president's tax policy when he subsequently appeared on CNN's "Piers Morgan Live" to make his point once again — albeit with far less profanity. "This whole idea of this 1% versus the 99%, it's a false static," Lovitz stated. "He's creating a false class warfare in a country where there is no class structure."

Actor Stephen Baldwin has made no bones about his right-wing leanings. That was more than evident during a 2008 TV appearance with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, in which he shared his apprehension over the possibility of Barack Obama becoming president. "I just want to say right now that it's official, if Barack gets nominated, I'll be moving out of the country," he declared (via New York magazine). 

Baldwin had more choice words about Obama in an interview with the New York Daily News. As HuffPost reported, Baldwin challenged Obama to put up his dukes and step into the ring with him for a charity boxing match. "I'd like to knock some good sense into Barack," Baldwin said. "I wouldn't hurt him. But if he wins the election, he'll hurt me. He's a cultural terrorist." 

After Obama was elected president, Baldwin's rhetoric only escalated — including a statement he made during a 2010 appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live." "Quite frankly, I think it's official today, Barack Obama is the greatest gangster to ever come out of Chicago," Baldwin said. He then punctuated his point by adding, "Mr. Obama's a liar."

Once known for such guitar-heavy hits as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Stranglehold," Ted Nugent morphed from a long-haired 1970s rock rebel to an outspoken right-wing activist. In recent years, Nugent's music has been overshadowed by his often-outrageous political statements, and his hatred for Barack Obama has never been in question. 

For example, in a 2014 interview with Guns.com — ostensibly about his own presidential ambitions — Nugent described Obama as "a Chicago communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured subhuman mongrel," and then called him a "gangster" who'd managed "to weasel his way" into the presidency. Met with public outrage over the overt racism of calling a Black man a "subhuman mongrel," Nugent offered an apology of sorts when interviewed by conservative radio host Ben Ferguson (via The Washington Post). "I do apologize — not necessarily to the president ... for using the street-fighter terminology of 'subhuman mongrel' instead of just using more understandable language, such as 'violator of his oath to the Constitution,'" he said.

By 2016, Nugent's feelings about Obama had not only remained negative but extended to literally calling for his execution. In a 2016 Facebook post (which has since been deleted) about Benghazi, Nugent slammed both Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "They should be tried for treason & hung," he wrote, as reported by CBS News.

Nominated for two Oscars and winner of two Emmys and a Golden Globe, James Woods was once known for his acting prowess. That all changed with the political ascension of Barack Obama, which compelled Woods to share his low opinion via social media.

"He is just vile," Woods tweeted in 2013. "A small, small man." He went even further in a follow-up tweet, writing, "This President is a true abomination." When someone asked if the actor was worried that his outspoken anti-Obama vitriol would harm his career, Woods was downright defiant. "I don't expect to work again," he tweeted. "l think Barack Obama is a threat to the integrity and future of the Republic. My country first." Woods did work again — albeit not as frequently as he had in the past, with post-2013 roles confined almost exclusively to voice acting in animated projects.

Unlike some other celebrities, Woods stopped short of calling for Obama's death — in fact, he actually reversed course by alerting authorities to a social media user who'd threatened Obama's life. "I may disagree with #Obama on virtually everything," Woods tweeted. "To threaten his life allegedly in jest is appalling and a federal felony."

Hollywood conservative Tim Allen didn't use social media to criticize Barack Obama. Instead, he utilized his ABC sitcom, "Last Man Standing," as the vehicle to deliver the message. In fact, The Washington Post flagged one episode that featured Allen's character, Mike Baxter, offering a scathing critique of Obamacare. "Well, we all agree he screws up a lot, but I prefer his earlier, classic screw-ups," Mike declared, insisting it shouldn't be up to the president to provide Americans with insurance. "Who does he think he is, that cooler Black dude on the Allstate commercials?" he quipped. In addition, Variety highlighted an episode that featured Mike complaining about Obama using taxpayer dollars to finance "gay weddings for illegal aliens." People also pointed to another of Mike's Obama-related bon mots: "If you're a young person who's not exactly sure where life is taking you, that's okay. You know, we can't all be Barack Obama and have our first job be president."

When ABC canceled "Last Man Standing" in 2017, Allen expressed his shock by tweeting, "Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years." In a subsequent appearance on "Norm Macdonald Live," Allen floated his own theory about the reason the show had been axed. "There is nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative character," Allen said (via Esquire).

When a petition demanding the show be uncanceled gained traction, the network's then-president addressed the furor by insisting the cancellation was simply a business decision that had nothing to do with Allen's anti-Obama views. The show was later resurrected by Fox, airing on that network for two more seasons before being canceled a second and final time. 

Gene Simmons, the fire-breathing, blood-spewing bassist for KISS, had once been a supporter of Barack Obama. However, ahead of Obama's second presidential run, Simmons' support for the incumbent POTUS had dried up. 

"The country is so divided," Simmons explained in an interview with NoiseCreep (via NBC News). "I voted for President Obama last time but I have to say I'm very disappointed in his job. He's been a p***-poor president as far as I'm concerned."

For the 2012 presidential election, Simmons declared that his vote would be going to Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney. "I will tell you that he's much more qualified," Simmons said of the former Massachusetts governor. For Simmons, who'd earned a much-deserved reputation for monetizing everything from KISS Kondoms to the infamous KISS Kasket, it was Obama's dearth of experience in the realm of business that pushed him toward his rival. "He's a businessman, he ran the Olympics ... He knows how to create jobs," Simmons said of Romney. "President Obama is a wonderful family man. And that's about where the résumé stops."

Ahead of the 2012 election, martial arts champion-turned-movie action hero Chuck Norris and his wife, Gena O'Kelley, produced a video with an alarming title: "Chuck Norris' dire warning for America." Standing side by side, the couple solemnly declared that America was going down the tubes, and the country they loved so dearly would soon be lost. "And it is because of that we can no longer sit quietly or stand on the sidelines and watch our country go the way of socialism or something much worse," the "Walker, Texas Ranger" star gravely intoned.

As the video continued, O'Kelley warned of the alarming prospect of Obama winning re-election by quoting former President Ronald Reagan, stating, "We will preserve for our children this last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness."

Norris offered further criticism of Obama when he appeared on Fox News to slam the president's speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. "Last night, he gave no content to his speech," Norris said, adding, "I just feel he's making the same promises he did four years ago, which he did not keep."

Throughout her Hollywood career, her conservative views have led Candace Cameron Bure to generate her share of controversy. While that hasn't always worked in her favor, it led to her being hired to sit on the panel of "The View," Candace Cameron Bure spent two seasons on "The View" as the show's token conservative.

During her two seasons on the show, she did not disappoint in that regard. In fact, being the sole conservative among a panel of liberal women gave her a rare opportunity to express her disdain for Barack Obama within the context of simply doing what she was paid to do. That was the case when, during one episode, the conversation turned to Obama's calm demeanor while addressing escalating terrorism by ISIS after the horrific attacks in Paris. "I like calm, cool and collected, but ... I feel like sometimes he's the guy on the Titanic saying, 'Stay calm, stay calm, everybody, just get into the boat' while it's sinking," she said.

Her fellow panelist, left-leaning Whoopi Goldberg, shut down that criticism. "I'm sorry," responded Goldberg, "I don't think anything is sinking."

Donald Trump began publicly expressing doubts that President Barack Obama had been born in the U.S. Trump soon became the leading proponent of what came to be known as the "birther" movement. 

With Trump in the audience, Obama took to the dais during the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Having released his birth certificate earlier that week, Obama jokingly declared that now that the whole thing had been laid to rest, Trump could get back to focusing on issues that really mattered. "Like, 'Did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?'" Obama quipped while Trump seethed. "All kidding aside, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience," Obama continued, referencing Trump's decision to fire Gary Busey over Lil Jon or Meatloaf on "The Celebrity Apprentice." "And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night," Obama deadpanned, causing the crowd to erupt in laughter. Ever since that night, Trump has reportedly hated Obama with a passion.

Ironically, there are many who believe that Obama's barbed jokes were what pushed Trump to declare his candidacy for president in the first place. "I thought, 'Oh, Barack Obama is starting something that I don't know if he'll be able to finish,'" "Apprentice" villain Omarosa Manigault told the PBS documentary series "Frontline," adding, "It is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe." Adding even more insight was Michael D'Antonio, author of "The Truth About Trump." "Donald dreads humiliation and he dreads shame," he explained. "This is a burning, personal need that he has to redeem himself from being humiliated by the first Black president."