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Actor Richard Gere suggested even the Dalai Lama couldn’t change President Donald Trump or the “astonishing” effect he’s had on the country.
The “Pretty Woman” actor spoke to Variety on Wednesday about his new documentary “Wisdom of Happiness,” which features comments from the Dalai Lama, whom Gere considers a close friend.
Gere said that hearing the Dalai Lama speak made him reflect on how the United States was on the “very wrong track,” but he doubted the Tibetan spiritual leader could influence Trump.
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“I don’t know that it would touch him,” Gere said. “I would hope that it would. I would pray that it would. But boy, I don’t know how you explain what he has done to this country, what it feels like to be an American now, 10 or 11 months in. It’s just astonishing. It’s beyond what anyone could ever imagine.”
He encouraged Americans to take responsibility for the leaders they elect and instead support people who can create a better world.
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“If we want a world a certain way, then we have to elect leaders who have a similar vision to us and will lead us towards this higher level of possibility—who we are as individuals and how we can create a world, a society where people can live with each other rather than this battlefield every day, all day long, with the craziness,” Gere said. “Especially, as I say, coming from this very crude mentality that is now in our leadership.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Gere has made several comments against Trump since his re-election, saying in September that he “almost destroyed our country” in just six months.
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“We have a president who’s completely — he’s not only crazy. He’s a dark, dark presence. And it’s happened so quickly,” Gere said at the time.
In February, Gere criticized Trump as a “bully and a thug” and said that America was in a dark place.
“Authoritarianism takes us all over,” Gere continued. “We have to be vigilant. We have to be alert. We have to be energetic. We have to be brave. We have to be courageous. And everyone who’s watching this – in the Spanish-speaking world and elsewhere – we have to be willing to stand up, tell the truth, be honest. And there’s a place in all of our lives for basic kindness, for basic love and understanding.”
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