Following the election, Mark Wahlberg was asked about what lessons we could draw from Donald Trump’s victory. He basically said that the lesson for Hollywood was that no one cares what they think, and that they should shut up about politics, because elitism, etc. Because I guess Trump isn’t an out-of-touch elitist too? So as Mark promotes Patriots Day – a film about the Boston Marathon Bombing – he’s been getting a lot of questions about Trump and politics. He keeps saying he doesn’t want to talk about it, but every now and then, he offers a glimpse of what he really thinks.
When he was chatting with the Daily Beast, the discussion turned to the Muslim community of Boston and Trump’s proposed “Muslim registry.” Wahlberg called the idea of a registry “absurd,” and said: “I have so many friends who are devout Muslims and wonderful, amazing people.” Okay… so what’s the issue with being a famous actor and saying, “You can’t treat Muslim citizens this way?” Wahlberg is a riddle! Then he was asked by E! how he feels about the upcoming Trump administration, and this is what happened:
Mark Wahlberg can’t help but think the United States will be OK when Donald Trump becomes president.
“Being the positive person that I am, I have to hope so,” Wahlberg says. “I have to remain optimistic that the future will get better.”
I chatted with Wahlberg and director Peter Berg over the weekend at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, where they were promoting Patriots Day, their new drama about the Boston Marathon bombings. Wahlberg, 45, credits his Catholic faith for helping him remain positive about the future. “Peter and I have had endless conversations about this,” the actor said. “I think he’s always convinced I’m trying to convert him to Catholicism, which I’m not, but life is short. If we live to be 100, it’s still a short amount of time. I want to live forever. I want to be with my loved ones forever and my faith allows me to deal with loss, disappointment, failure, all of those things, sickness. It reminds me that things can always be worse and how lucky I am, how blessed I am, how fortunate I am and I want to encourage people to have the ability to look at things in a positive way.”
It’s been said many, many times before, and it’s worth saying again: if you’re a white, straight, cisgendered man in America, chances are pretty good that you won’t be feeling the brunt of the oncoming catastrophe of the Trump administration. Mark Wahlberg and his fellow white bros have the room and the space to feel optimistic, because statistically speaking, they were the ones voting for Trump anyway. To the rest of us non-white non-bros, we can see that the future looks pretty f—king dismal. And we don’t think we’re being pessimistic by saying so.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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