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Stockard Channing no longer lives in the United States, and it sounds like President Donald Trump played some role in her decision to move to another country. The 82-year-old American actress, who portrayed Rizzo in Grease, made the decision to move to another place after the death of her partner, Daniel. With Trump in power, she decided it was best to leave her home in Maine and relocate to the United Kingdom, where she still lives.
In a recent essay, Channing reflected on the current political climate in the U.S.
She didn’t necessarily elaborate on why Trump’s politics motivated her to move elsewhere, but she did mention that there used to be “honest, intelligent discourse” in the world of politics, and she’s not seeing that now.
“Since just before Covid I’ve been living in London,” she wrote in an essay for The Sunday Times. “My partner, Daniel, died in 2014 and it was more devastating than I realized; it had a lag effect. The pattern of my life shifted, so I shifted my life from Maine.”
Though she didn’t mention why she chose London specifically, she mentioned the shift in U.S. politics that happened around the same time that she decided to leave Maine. “It vaguely coincided with Trump getting elected and the way politics has changed in the US,” she wrote.
On ‘The West Wing,’ Channing had portrayed the show’s first lady.
Of course, this was year’s ago. But Channing noted how much things have changed since 1999, when she took on this role. “When I started playing The West Wing’s first lady, Abbey Bartlet, in 1999, we were about to move to the second Bush administration,” she explained. “The cast had a good look at that Washington world and there seemed to be a level of honest, intelligent discourse that is missing from 2026.” Oof.
She doesn’t think she’s the only one who has noticed this. And what she wrote next was an even more obvious insult directed at the Trump administration. Without naming names, she added, “People look at The West Wing and go, ‘Wow, wasn’t it great when politicians had an ounce of integrity?'” Without saying a ton, Channing made her feelings pretty obvious.
Channing is obviously not the only celebrity who has left the U.S. because of Trump.
And numerous celebrities have spoken out against him. After Trump’s rise to power, actress Eva Longoria felt the vibes were off. “I had my whole adult life here,” she told Marie Claire, referring to the U.S. “But even before (the pandemic), it was changing. The vibe was different. And then Covid happened, and it pushed it over the edge.” She admitted she was “privileged” because she was able to escape “this dystopian country,” while many Americans don’t have that option.
She also told the publication how she felt when Trump first won in 2016. “I’ve never been (so) depressed in my life,” she said.
Of course, Rosie O’Donnell has also gotten a lot of attention for her decision to relocate to Ireland. When she announced that she had moved, she said she would “consider” returning to the U.S. when “it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America.” She has used her recent trips to the U.S. as an opportunity to share how she really feels about Trump. She’s obviously not a fan.
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