The United States is “flirting with autocracy,” Michael Douglas said at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Saturday. The actor, who was in attendance to present a screening of the recently restored “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” also said “people are going into politics now to make money, and we maintain an idealism in the U.S. which does not exist now.”
American politics were introduced as a talking point at the Czech Republic event after an unidentified journalist told Douglas the 1975 film is, in part, about rebellion before asking a question about Donald Trump, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I think our president’s name has been mentioned enough over the short time that he’s been president,” the star responded.
When it comes to the state of politics in the United States, Douglas added, “Our country is flirting with autocracy, [like] some other democracies in this world … what we’re struggling with right now is a reminder for all of the hard work that the Czech did in terms of gaining their freedom and their independence … democracy is not to be taken for granted. I think it reminds us that we all need to make our efforts. It’s not the job of somebody else.”
Douglas also lamented the relationship between money and the political sphere. “The disappointing thing is that politics now seems to be for profit. Money has entered democracy, not just in our country, but in others, as a way of a profit center,” he said. “People are going into politics now to make money, and we maintain an idealism in the U.S. which does not exist now.”
“I find myself worried, I’m nervous, and I just think it’s all of our responsibility, not for somebody else to look out for us, but for us to look out for ourselves,” he continued.
The actor, who significantly slowed down his career in 2022, also told reporters he has “no real intention” of returning to the large or small screen. “I have no real intention of going back. I say I’m not retired, because [if] something special came up, I’d go back. But otherwise, I’m quite happy to watch my wife work,” he shared.
