Why Art Garfunkel Might Leave the U.S. Amid Trump Concerns
Musician Art Garfunkel has joined the growing list of celebrities considering leaving the United States in response to President Donald Trump’s administration and policies.In an interview with The Guardian, Garfunkel, 84, told the British publication he is concerned about the country’s stance on key issues and is considering moving elsewhere.“I don’t like America’s position at all,” he told the outlet. “I’m not aboard, and I’m thinking of leaving the country, frankly.”Garfunkel expressed concern about climate change, international affairs and other political issues.“It’s real that the planet is getting warmer, that the water’s rising, that so many people are starving,” Garfunkel said in the piece that originally ran Sept. 4.He also criticized Trump’s decision to launch a military operation that resulted in the capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is facing a slew of federal charges while currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York.“When Donald Trump took over Venezuela, are those the new rules? Just take over a country and run it?” Garfunkel said.“It’s shocking, and you think, ‘How on earth are we gonna change the presidency?’ But Trump won’t last forever, so we’ve got to hope,” he added.Art Garfunkel, pictured at the 68th Grammy Awards pre-gala, recently announced he was considering fleeing the US because of President Donald Trump. Getty ImagesThe New York City-born musician is among the latest American celebrities to consider moving abroad or to have relocated while criticizing Trump’s presidency.Notably, comedian Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Trump’s 2024 election victory, while director James Cameron has long planned a permanent move to New Zealand and criticized Trump as his New Zealand citizenship approached.Former daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has said Trump’s election prompted her and wife Portia de Rossi to make their stay in the United Kingdom permanent.“We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in,'” DeGeneres told broadcaster Richard Bacon, according to the BBC in 2025. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.'”Garfunkel said he is concerned about the stance of the United States under President Donald Trump. Getty ImagesPaul Simon and Art Garfunkel posing for a studio portrait in 1967. Bettmann ArchiveIn August, O’Donnell returned to the United States for a weeklong guest-hosting stint on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The 64-year-old comic then turned her attention to her new residency in Ireland.On the Aug. 17 show, she referred to Trump as “Mango Mussolini.”“I read that Project 2025 and said, ‘Got to get myself out of here, you know,’ and I decided to go to Ireland, a place where people are driven to drink regardless of who’s running their country,” O’Donnell said.The New York City-born musician is among the latest American celebrities to consider moving abroad or to have relocated while criticizing Trump’s presidency. Getty Images for AFIThe celebrity relocations and threats to leave the country have drawn the attention of Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff.“Celebrity threats to leave the country are usually pretty easy to roll your eyes at,” Shroff told Fox News Digital. “Most never actually do — Rosie O’Donnell aside. But Garfunkel is 84 years old and has spent more than six decades as one of the most recognizable figures in American music, so this doesn’t exactly read like somebody trying to launch a political brand.”“What’s interesting is the level of alienation he’s expressing,” he continued. “He’s looking at the country he has lived in his entire life and saying, essentially, ‘I don’t recognize our role in the world anymore.’”Shroff told Fox News Digital that he believes Garfunkel’s comments about moving abroad are more of a political statement than a commitment to leave the country.“The line about leaving America is obviously going to get the attention, but I don’t think that’s really what Garfunkel is saying here,” Shroff said. “He sounds genuinely disturbed by where he thinks the country is headed, particularly by the idea that the United States can simply decide the old rules no longer apply. People can disagree with his politics, but that kind of unease is hardly unique to Art Garfunkel.”Fox News Digital reached out to Garfunkel for additional comment.Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
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