New rumors have claimed Donald Trump's re-election as U.S. President has pushed Forrest Gump star Tom Hanks to leave the country.
Amid the heat of the U.S. election, many celebrities have openly taken sides, with many celebrities, including Marvel and DC stars, siding with Kamala Harris.
Tom Hanks Leaving the U.S. Rumors Explained
Thanks to a TikTok post from @celiina.t97, rumors are spreading that Tom Hanks has left the United States after the account shared a supposed statement from the 68-year-old Hollywood icon.
The statement noted Hanks "officially fled the country" because "President Trump 2.0 was a bit more than [he] was ready for."
It even referenced some of his most iconic roles in saying he saw the results and thought, "Run, Forrest, run," especially as the apparent fear of landing in federal prison left him "sprinting faster than a castaway chasing a volleyball:"
"Dear friends and fans,
It is with a heavy heart and an even heavier suitcase that I announce: I have officially fled the country. Yes, you heard that right-I am currently writing this from a far-off, undisclosed location, with a beautiful view of... well, something that's definitely not America.
Why am I here, you ask? Let's just say that President Trump 2.0 was a bit more than I was ready for. When I saw the results, I thought, 'Run, Forrest, run!' and that's exactly what I did. Not to mention, the fear of ending up in federal prison had me sprinting faster than a castaway chasing a volleyball.
Please don't think of this as me abandoning my beloved country - just think of it as a very long, politically-induced vacation. I'll be back... eventually. O maybe just in time for President Oprah.
Love and hope from... somewhere, Tom Hanks"
Rumors of Hanks leaving the U.S. are nothing new, as a viral Facebook post in January 2024 shared a fake CNN report (via Reuters). The false report showed a TV report with a chyron stating Hanks has converted to Judaism and has "[fled] to Israel following the release of the Epstein client list:
“TOM HANKS CONVERTS TO JUDAISM AND FLEES TO ISRAEL FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF THE EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST.”
Fast forward to September 2024 ahead of the U.S. election, a post on X (formerly Twitter) from @realTrumpNewsX went viral and falsely claimed Hanks has announced "he will leave the United States if Donald Trump is elected President in 2024."
Is Tom Hanks Leaving the U.S. After Donald Trump's Election Win?
To make a long story short, while Tom Hanks has openly opposed and criticized Donald Trump, there is nothing to support rumors he has or will leave the country.
Speaking in an interview with CNN in June 2024, Hanks was asked his thoughts about a potential second presidency for Trump, and stated there is "always a reason to be worried about the short-term." But he noted how the "journey to a more perfect union has missteps in it:"
“I think there is always a reason to be worried about the short-term. But I look at the longer term of what happened… Our constitution says, 'We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union.' That journey to a more perfect union has missteps in it, we know. I can catalog them as much as you can … and i’m just a guy that makes movies and reads books.”
When asked if he worries about the future of the U.S., Hanks noted how he has faith in the country and other similar western societies to "turn towards what is right:"
“It comes about, not because of somebody’s narrative of who is right or who is a victim or not, it comes out of the slow melding of truth, to the actual practical life that we end up living … I will always have faith that the United States of America and the western societies that have adopted, more or less, the same sort of democracy, cannot help but turn towards what is right."
Rewinding time to Trump's first presidential campaign in October 2016, Hanks noted to the BBC that it would be a "dark day for the planet Earth" if the Republican candidate won his first term, as he, obviously, ended up doing.
He also called Trump a "self-involved gas bag" before praising at-the-time Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton:
"Yeah let's talk about that self-involved gas bag. Do you wanna talk about him? Look, if I have an abscessed tooth and I need to see an oral surgeon, I'm not gonna go to the guy who says, 'You know what, I think I can be a pretty good oral surgeon.' I am going to go to someone who has been doing it for 30 years and has handled it a million times and knows all the small little... I am voting for Hillary Clinton because I think she is wildly, wildly qualified to the the president of the USA, at the same time with dealing with the one damn thing after the other that the world has handed her. So, there you go, close enough? Have I been authentic in my answer to you one way or another?"
Clearly, Hanks' comments make it clear he has no plans to leave the U.S. regardless of the election outcome. If anything, his comments that Americans should mainly be "worried about the short-term" suggests nothing of the sort, and more implies the actor would stick out a potentially tough few years in search of the light at the end of the tunnel.
