Actor Sean Penn has called US President Donald Trump a “jealous spouse who murders another partner”, asserting that he would “try to destroy the world” if he attempted to retain power after his second term.
During a joint appearance on Jim Acosta’s Substack podcast, The Jim Acosta Show, alongside Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell, Penn said, “I do think it’s a reasonable theory that Donald Trump is not unlike the spouse of someone who leaves him… who then murders their former partner because if they can’t have her, nobody can.”
“Trump and his solipsism may have that relationship with the world… this destruction is in part a power play. And also a literal intention of his final out,” he was quoted as saying by Daily Beast.
Since taking office in January, Trump has taken the world by storm, first by cracking down on illegal immigration by sending deportees to their respective countries and levying the now-paused reciprocal tariffs on all countries. He has imposed separate levies on Canada and Mexico, accusing them of not tackling the flow of fentanyl across the US border, and on China as well.
Asked whether he believed Trump was eyeing a third term, Penn, the 64-year-old actor, replied, “I think he might try to destroy the world before he ages out of life.”
Under the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution, American presidents can serve a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms or eight years in total.
Trump, who defeated former US Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election, has been toying with the idea of a third term and said he was “not joking” about it.
The Republican broke a 132-year-old record, only becoming the second president to serve non-consecutive terms after Grover Cleveland, who was elected in 1884 and 1892. Trump was first elected in 2016, defeating Hillary Clinton, before losing to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
Earlier on Friday, Vice President JD Vance refused to rule out Trump’s third-term ambitions, despite repeated questioning during an interview with Fox News.
Meanwhile, during Acosta’s Substack podcast, Swalwell, a Democrat, asserted that dictators never planned for succession and expressed concerns over the damage Trump might inflict on the US if he was cornered, The Daily Beast reported.
“If he doesn’t believe there’s somebody who can protect him, you will see him ratchet up… What he’s willing to do to the country to protect himself,” he said.
About The Author
