Nick Offerman said in an interview with IndieWire while promoting his film “Sovereignty” that only “dumb people” think Ron Swanson, his beloved “Parks and Recreation” character, is a Donald Trump supporter. Offerman played Ron on all seven seasons of the NBC sitcom, which ran for 126 episodes between 2009 and 2015. The actor said that MAGA supporters think Ron “must be one of us” just because he has a shotgun or something.
“Dumb people insist that Ron Swanson would’ve voted for Trump. And I don’t deign to answer myself,” Offerman said. “I take it to Mike Schur, the main creator of Ron, and he said, ‘Swanson would’ve despised Trump, because Ron loved capitalism. And Trump made the stupidest move you could make as a capitalist, which is to go into public service.’”
“He would think he’s an absolute idiot,” Offerman continued about Ron’s thoughts on Trump. “He would also despise him because he’s disrespectful to women and many others. And that’s just an example of all the people and value sets that Ron would despise, because Ron is a good person.”
Offerman has always been protective over Ron since “Parks and Recreation” wrapped. Earlier this year, the actor defended the LGBTQ+ community against homophobic hate on X after Michael Flynn Jr., son of retired Army lieutenant general and Trump’s former U.S. national security advisor Michael Flynn, attempted to use a clip of Ron Swanson to denounce Pride Month.
“Just wanted to post how I feel about ‘pride’ month,” Flynn Jr. wrote on X accompanied by a “Parks and Rec” clip showing Swanson throwing a rainbow flag into a dumpster. Only the clip was doctored to make it appear as if Offerman’s character was homophobic. The real scene, from the fourth season episode “The Trial of Leslie Knope,” sees Ron throwing his computer in the trash. The edit Flynn Jr. shared on X replaced the computer with the rainbow flag.
“Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb fuck,” Offerman fired back on X. “Happy Pride.”
Offerman was referring to the “Parks and Recreation” series finale, “One Last Ride,” where Ron serves as the best man to his hairdresser, Typhoon (Rodney To).
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From Variety US