David Lynch Clarifies Trump Comments in Open Letter

In a recent interview with The Guardian, director David Lynch was quoted as saying ”[Donald Trump] could go down as one of the greatest presidents in history because he has disrupted the thing so much. No one is able to counter this guy in an intelligent way,” along with a few other semi-positive quotes about the president. The Guardian piece also noted that “while Trump may not be doing a good job himself, Lynch thinks, he is opening up a space where other outsiders might.”

Infamous alt-right news site Breitbart conveniently skipped over that last part when they picked up Lynch’s comments, prompting Trump to tweet out a link to their story and even read the quotes aloud during a South Carolina rally.

“Director David Lynch: Trump Could Go Down as One of the Greatest Presidents” https://t.co/AcgnIZNh6e

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018

Now, Lynch is setting the record straight, pointing out that his comments were taken out of context in an open letter he shared on Facebook Tuesday. Lynch, who admitted in the Guardian interview he is not much of a political person, having previously voted as both a Democrat and Libertarian, urges the president to “turn the ship around” and “treat all the people as you would like to be treated.”

While his stance does not seem to be particularly firm one way or another, at least there won’t be a push to ‘cancel’ Lynch like there was for Kanye West. You can read Lynch’s letter in full below.

Dear Mr. President,

This is David Lynch writing. I saw that you re-tweeted the Breitbart article with the heading—Director David Lynch: Trump ‘Could Go Down as One of the Greatest Presidents in History.’ I wish you and I could sit down and have a talk. This quote which has traveled around was taken a bit out of context and would need some explaining.

Unfortunately, if you continue as you have been, you will not have a chance to go down in history as a great president. This would be very sad it seems for you—and for the country. You are causing suffering and division.

It’s not too late to turn the ship around. Point our ship toward a bright future for all. You can unite the country. Your soul will sing. Under great loving leadership, no one loses – everybody wins. It’s something I hope you think about and take to heart. All you need to do is treat all the people as you would like to be treated.

Sincerely,

David Lynch