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Movie Star Branded MAGA for Claiming He Stays Out of Politics

Glen Powell, branded by the media as “the next Tom Cruise,” is being skewered for his take.

Glen Powell’s refusal to share his thoughts about America under Trump has led fans to accuse him of being a not-so-secret member of the MAGA movement.

Esquire profiled the Top Gun: Maverick star, during which the Texas native said he wouldn’t share his political takes. Powell’s mother served in the Reagan administration’s U.S. Treasury Department, he said, and his father was so invested in his own political aspirations that he took his mother’s more politically viable last name—but Powell told the outlet it didn’t rub off on him.

“Over time, I realized that politics divide people,” he said, revealing why he’s choosing to skip the conversation.

Powell starred alongside MAGA-favorite actress Sydney Sweeney in the 2023 romantic comedy Anyone but You, which they promoted by playing into rumors of a real-life romance. He went on to star in blockbusters like 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick and 2024’s remake of Twisters. Some outlets have dubbed him “the next Tom Cruise.”

“People trying to prove their point—for me, it’s the worst version of a conversation. I genuinely do not like the discourse. It’s not as healthy as it once was,” Powell continued. It’s “not presently possible” to engage in the political conversation without setting someone off, he went on, so he has opted out. “I applaud people for jumping into those things and fighting for what they believe in. If I were a political person, I would be talking about it. For me, my calling is elsewhere.”

Fans immediately jumped on the actor on social media. “Translation: I got my money… I’m good…” one X user wrote in response to Powell’s take. “Maybe people will see this and stay quiet at the box office.”

Another wrote along the same lines: “The luxury of being rich so politics don’t affect your life.”

Others felt that Powell was hiding MAGA views: “He’s a republican from Texas. Next.” Another added, “Translation: I’m 100 percent MAGA, fight fight fight.”

Yet another wrote, “That’s Republican speak.”

One summed it up, “So he is a trumper—got it, got it.”

Powell told CBS Mornings in 2024 that publicly apolitical star Tom Cruise advised him to “control the noise” around his image.

“When things pop off, it’s just gonna get very loud,” Powell summed up at the time. “Nothing else has changed. But you determine how loud you need all that noise to be. You can turn it up, or you can turn it down, but it’s up to you.”

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Next up, Powell will headline Judd Apatow’s country-music comedy film The Comeback King.

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Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

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