Michael Rapaport, an actor and comedian who spent years publicly insulting Donald Trump, has stopped his derogatory remarks toward the president after the Hamas hostage crisis shifted his perspective, he revealed in a recent podcast appearance.
During an episode of Jamie Kennedy’s podcast “Hate To Break It To Ya,” the 56-year-old explained how the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent hostage situation prompted his change in approach. “After Oct. 7, I realized the magnitude and scope of the hostage situation, and it was between cadaver [Joe Biden] and Trump and Kamala … I knew that the only chance would be [Trump],” Rapaport said, according to Fox News.
For years, Rapaport had been a vocal critic of Trump, using derogatory language and name-calling in public statements and social media posts. However, he acknowledged that his earlier criticism came from a place of ignorance. “I wasn’t as informed, plugged in, educated as I am about politics, world politics … I think it’s great to admit when you were wrong, uninformed, misinformed and spoke out of turn,” he told Kennedy.
The shift in his stance became most apparent when he explained why he no longer insults the president. “Why I don’t insult him now, and I could insult him and I could be derogatory towards him, is because for me, simply getting the hostages home was enough for me to not … be disrespectful,” Rapaport said, per Fox News.
Rapaport has become deeply invested in the hostage crisis, making nine trips to Israel over the past two and a half years. He has spoken at rallies with hostage families and engaged in conversations with those directly affected by the October 7 attacks. “The exposure and the enlightenment and the conversations I had with the hostage families, the reality that I saw, it’s worth it for me to not be disrespectful to him because I fought, begged, prayed, pleaded to get the hostages home by any means necessary,” he explained.
Rapaport emphasized that his decision to stop insulting Trump doesn’t mean he fully endorses the president on all issues. “I could still be critical and still be frustrated and have all the things, but … it was important enough for me to no longer carry on like that,” he added. When some people criticized him for ceasing his attacks, he invited them to “carry the torch” themselves, saying he had moved on from that approach.
“For me, it was enough to get the hostages home and protect Israel’s right to exist. Those two things were enough for me,” he told Kennedy. The comedian said his advocacy work in Israel has given him insight he didn’t have before, leading him to respect Trump’s role in hostage negotiations despite their past disagreements.
Sources
- Fox News — Michael Rapaport’s statements on Jamie Kennedy’s podcast about how the Hamas hostage crisis changed his views on Trump and why he stopped insulting the president
- The Post Millennial — Rapaport’s acknowledgment that October 7 and the hostage situation changed his perspective on Trump
