Steven Seagal defends Trump against vicious ‘leftover Obama-ites’

Public appearances are a rare thing for Steven Seagal, but his recent short interview on Good Morning Britain was full of enough fodder to leave audiences speculating for ages. 

Seagal became a Russian citizen in 2016, and was speaking via satellite from Moscow to hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. He’s long been a fan of Russian president Vladimir Putin, whom Seagal calls “one of the great world leaders” and “a great tactician”, but it was no surprise when talk turned to US politics and the growing uncertainty about the efficacy of US president Donald Trump. 

“I think that we have a really unfortunate situation in the sense that even though he was democratically elected, there are so many people out there who don’t feel that that’s the case and we have a ton of enemies within,” Seagal said. 

Seagal touched on what he perceives to be the “democrat agenda” and a “group of leftover Obama-ites” who might want to overthrow Donald Trump. 

He also railed against the NFL players who have taken a knee during the national anthem in protest, saying that their actions are a way of holding “the United States of America or the world hostage by taking a venue where people are tuning in to watch a football game and imposing their political views”. Seagal and Trump seem to be on the same page about this, as Trump has been posting a flurry of tweets about his distaste for this avenue of expression. 

“I think it’s outrageous. I think it’s a joke. It’s disgusting,” Seagal said of the peaceful protests. “I respect the American flag and I myself have risked my life countless times for the American flag and I don’t understand or agree with tins kind of behaviour. I think it’s an outrage.” 

Seagal may have had controversial views in spades, but many viewers seemed to ignore them entirely in favour of mocking his appearance. Seagal’s trademark widow’s peak appears to have been dyed darker than his goatee, and a high-collared black shirt made him look even more severe. Some compared him to a “new Colonel Sanders”, a Bond villain, or one of Batman’s enemies. 

You can watch a video of Seagal’s appearance below.

Do you think people were right to ignore Seagal’s comments?