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Back to the Future star Lea Thompson slams ex Dennis Quaid over Trump support: 'Stop the Stupid'

Actor has been one of Trump’s few vocal supporters in Hollywood

Tom Murray
New York
Sunday 13 October 2024 19:07 BST
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Trump says he will withhold federal funding to California during rally

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Dennis Quaid’s ex-fiancée has reacted to the actor’s appearance at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Californiaon Saturday (October 12).

Lea Thompson, who starred as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, dated and was engaged to Quaid between 1984 and 1987.

Thompson responded to a video on X of Quaid at the rally in Coachella, writing, “I was engaged to him,” along with a confused face emoji.

She included the hashtags: #VoteBlueToStopTheStupid and #crimeisactuallydown.

In the video, Quaid was shown saying, “Are we going to be a nation of law and order? Or wide open borders? Which is it? Because it’s time to pick a side.”

Quaid plays former US President Ronald Reagan in Sean McNamara’s biopic, Reagan, released in August of this year. Calling Reagan his “favorite president of the 20th century,” the actor drew comparisons between the current political landscape and that of Reagan’s first election victory.

“It’s amazing how the issues of the 1980 election are very similar to what they are today,” he said, recalling the record high inflation back then and the Iran hostage crisis.

“We were a nation in decline. That’s what they told us. Ronald Reagan came along and said, no, we’re not a nation in decline. We’re going there. And we followed him,” Quaid said, pointing upwards. “The same with Trump, with President Trump. My favorite president of the 21st century.”

Actor Dennis Quaid speaks at a campaign rally for Donald Trump on October 12, 2024, in Coachella, California
Actor Dennis Quaid speaks at a campaign rally for Donald Trump on October 12, 2024, in Coachella, California (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Quaid – who starred in The Right Stuff and Great Balls of Fire! – has long been a supporter of Trump and was even rumored to have been paid to feature in a $300m pro-Trump coronavirus ad campaign in 2020, which he denied.

Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored earlier this year, Quaid argued that Trump deserved a second incumbency because he is “sincere.”

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“He stands up to people, and that’s what makes him a leader,” the actor said. “So, you know, people might call him an a**hole, but he’s my a**hole.”

He continued, “I really feel he is working for the American people. That’s what he’s all about and I do believe that to be true and sincere.”

Lea Thompson and Michael J Fox in ‘Back to the Future’
Lea Thompson and Michael J Fox in ‘Back to the Future’ (Universal Pictures)

The actor’s older brother Randy Quaid, who starred in The Last Detail and Midnight Express, and portrayed another former US president, Democrat Lyndon B Johnson, in LBJ: The Early Years, is also an outspoken Trump supporter.

The California rally came hours after Democratic nominee Kamala Harris released her medical information in a challenge to Trump, whose health and age are coming under increased scrutiny, particularly in light of recent long, rambling, and at times incoherent speeches.

Harris is on the campaign trail in the key battleground of North Carolina where she attended a church service and will hold a rally in Greenville.

New national polls show either a deadlocked race or a tightening of the Democrat’s narrow lead.

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