Matthew McConaughey Shuts Down Trump Question In Awkward TV Interview

Channel 10

If you want to pick Matthew McConaughey’s brains about politics and the upcoming US election, put aside a good chunk of your time or consider it a no-go zone. 

On Wednesday night, the actor shut down Australian TV presenter Carrie Bickmore’s question about President Donald Trump, saying he needed “a longer forum” to answer that to avoid his words being misconstrued.

When Carrie asked “how he felt” about Trump ahead of the November 3 election, the interview on ‘The Project’ took a slightly awkward turn.

“How do I feel about him?” he responded. “I want a fuller context and a longer form to talk about that.” 

“If I said something to you now, one line could be taken out of context and could be put into a headline, so I don’t want to take the chance for that.

“I need a longer forum where I know it’s word for word [and] everything I’m saying is being broadcast.” 

Channel 10

Matthew McConaughey has led an unconventional life. He sat down with Carrie Bickmore and didn’t skip a single detail, including being blackmailed at 15, resisting arrest after bongoing naked, and having 78 stitches sewn into his forehead by a vet. pic.twitter.com/yyiEdL81Ij

— The Project (@theprojecttv) October 21, 2020

“Well, let’s lock in that chat for another day!” Carrie then responded, looking a little taken aback by his response. 

Though he doesn’t speak much about politics, the actor answered a question about Donald Trump while promoting his film ‘Gold’ in 2017.

During a recorded sit-down chat with UK’s ChannelFI ― which was later taken down from YouTube ― the interviewer first suggested the film is about “redneck America sticking one up to the snotty East Coast and the elites” before directly asking Matthew for his views on Trump.

“Every single American actor or arty type who comes over to London dumps on Trump. You all completely hate him. Do you think it’s time that maybe Hollywood and the cultural elite of America gave this guy a break?” the interviewer asked the actor.

“They don’t have a choice now. He’s our president,” Matthew responded, before launching into a longer response.

“It’s very dynamic, and as divisive of an inauguration and time that we’ve ever had,” he said.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

“At the same time, it’s time for us to embrace, shake hands with this fact and be constructive with him over the next four years, so anyone, even those who most strongly may disagree with his principles or things he’s said and done, which we’ll see what he does compared to what he had said, no matter how much you’ve even disagreed along the way, it’s time to think about how constructive can you be because he’s our president for the next four years at least. President of the United States.” 

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the movie star appeared on the Channel 10 news and current affairs show to speak about his memoir, ‘Greenlights’.

In an excerpt of the book shared by People, he gave details of his parents’ volatile relationship ― and how it came to an end.

The Oscar winner revealed that his father, James McConaughey, died while having sex with his mother, Kay. It was just how his dad predicted, the actor recalled.

“I got a call from my Mum. ‘Your dad died.’ My knees buckled,” Matthew wrote. “I couldn’t believe it. He was my dad. Nobody or nothing could kill him. Except mum. He’d always told me and my brothers, ‘Boys, when I go, I’m gonna be makin’ love to your mother.’ And that’s what happened. He had a heart attack when he climaxed.”

The ‘Beach Bum’ actor, who was born after his parents married each other for the third time, characterised their bond as “the Pacific Ocean in a storm.”

With additional reporting by Bill Bradley and Ron Dicker (HuffPost US). 

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