Adam Brody is ready to open up about his political awakening.
“I remember when I really awoke politically, it was the Bush/Gore election, and then 9/11 happened eight months later,” Brody, 46, told GQ in a profile published Friday, September 25, referring to the deadly 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. “I remember thinking that morning: ‘It’s not so good to have a moron in charge.’ And, while I do think he’s a lot more civil and honorable [of] a person than who we have leading the government now, I don’t think he’s sharp, not to mention I just disagree with his politics.”
At the time, the Nobody Wants This star condemned George W. Bush as “a bad leader” during what he called “a bad thing.”
“We’re still paying for that 25 years later,” he added.
In the years since Bush’s White House tenure, Brody has continued supporting political candidates that he emphatically believes in.
“The first canvas I did with Swing Left was in 2018 for the midterms in Laguna Beach,” he recalled. “I participated in a somewhat national, but certainly local effort to flip a seat that Dana Rohrabacher used to have. And I did some campaigning in 2008 — I got involved early in the century.”
Brody, who stated that he has now canvassed with Swing Left “for a fairly long time,” further posited how Donald Trump’s two, non-consecutive presidential terms affected other celebrities’ advocacy efforts.
“I think it’s the cycle. The first time Trump was elected [in 2016], it was inconceivable. It woke everyone. There was so much activism,” Brody said. “People were running for office that had never ran before.”
He continued, “It was so awful to watch him defile our government, our country, our reputation, and really pit people against each other. I felt like most of the country right away was really against it. It felt very safe to step out against him in the first presidency.”
While Trump’s initial bid for reelection was thwarted by Joe Biden in 2020, the business tycoon defeated Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, four years later.
“The second time, the presidency was more powerful. Corporations were lining up behind him like they hadn’t before,” Brody added to GQ of Trump’s support among millionaires and billionaires. “People had to risk more to get in front of it. It just felt like the mood wasn’t there. The country decided this is the way it wants to go.”
Brody further alleged that Hollywood has “outspokenly” grown more conservative since Trump, 80, popularized the “Make America Great Again” movement.
“As one side has more power, it makes sense that it draws people to it for all the human reasons that would be attractive: groupthink, your own well-being, your own money and success,” he stated. “Between COVID, a second Trump term, Israel-Gaza [conflict], it’s really brought out some different beliefs that I was ignorant to, and then disheartened by.”
Now gearing up for the 2026 midterms, Brody believes the political tide is shifting once again.
“As we start to pick up steam for this election, it’s getting exciting again,” he added. “We’re starting to feel powerful again.”
