Actor Vince Vaughn was caught on film in January doing something many on the left viewed as despicable. Did he kill a puppy? Light a building on fire? (Oh wait, that last one isn’t off limits anymore.)
Nope. He shook hands with President Trump.
The video of the incident was posted to Twitter in January. Vaughn ran into President Trump and First Lady Melania at the college football national championship. The video shows the three having a friendly chat. This brief conversation was enough to outrage the mob.
Vaughn is a vocal libertarian, who backed Rand Paul in the 2016 election. But simply showing courtesy was enough to infuriate some people.
Vaughn recently spoke on the viral video in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“In my career I’ve met a lot of politicians who I’ve always been cordial to; I’ve met Nancy Pelosi and was cordial to her as well,” he told the paper. “It was the only time I’ve ever met him. We said hello. He was very personable. I didn’t get into policies.”
Vaughn then continued to give what unfortunately is a hot take in 2020.
“I think people are more charged than ever about these things, but I don’t think most people take that stuff as seriously as the small percentage that’s making noise about it,” he said. “I was raised with the idea that you could have different likes and beliefs and you should respect and defend that in other people, not shout it down. The people you disagree with the most, you should stand up for their right to do that.”
Vaughn is showing what inclusivity really looks like. We should all applaud him for defending his right to simply be kind to another American and hope many choose to do the same.
Image Credit: Gage Skidmore