Vince Vaughn Responds to Backlash Over Video of Him Shaking Hands With Trump

Vince Vaughn defended his decision to shake hands with Donald Trump at the 2020 college football national championship game last January in New Orleans.

In a new interview with The Los Angeles Times, the actor, 50, said he had no regrets after receiving backlash for briefly chatting with the President and First Lady Melania Trump in a private suite.

“In my career I’ve met a lot of politicians who I’ve always been cordial to; I’ve met Nancy Pelosi and was cordial to her as well,” Vaughn explained. “It was the only time I’ve ever met him. We said hello. He was very personable. I didn’t get into policies.”

The clip of the chummy meeting went viral at the time, with pockets of social media calling for Vaughn to be cancelled.

“I think people are more charged than ever about these things,” the self-proclaimed Libertarian said. “But I don’t think most people take that stuff as seriously as the small percentage that’s making noise about it.”

“I was raised with the idea that you could have different likes and beliefs and you should respect and defend that in other people, not shout it down,” he continued. “The people you disagree with the most, you should stand up for their right to do that.”

Although many assumed Vaughn was a Trump supporter from the friendly conversation caught on camera, the “Swingers” star confessed he did not vote for the former reality star.

“The only candidate I ever supported is [former Libertarian presidential nominee] Ron Paul,” he claimed. “I don’t have a party that I support and endorse. In fact, for me sometimes it’s difficult to find a candidate that you feel is philosophically consistent and not just going along with whoever is funding their particular party.”

“That’s as much as I’ll get into it at this point,” he added.

Meanwhile, you can catch Vaughn as a serial killer who swaps bodies with a female high school student in the new film “Freaky.”