The West Wing star Bradley Whitford suggested Wednesday that Kamala Harris’ landslide election loss at least partially came about because we live in a “racist and sexist” country.
Whitford, who played the fiery political adviser Josh Lyman on the hit turn-of-the-century drama, made the stunning rebuke of U.S. voters in an interview with The Independent. But he had even harsher words for the election’s winner, Donald Trump.
“It is completely bewildering to me the cult that has formed around a narcissist like this, the worst person in show business,” Whitford said. “And that’s a tough category.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The 65-year-old actor, who campaigned for Harris at rally for her last month in Wisconsin, told the Independent he was confident the VP would best Trump this week.
“I absolutely thought we were going to win,” he said.
Whitford added to the British newspaper that—while he was confident—he’d also end political convos with his pals by noting “you can never underestimate” just how “racist and sexist this country is.”
Reflecting on the loss, which has seen every swing state break for Trump thus far, Whitford waxed poetic on what a second Trump term means for the country. He suggested the crippling defeat, which came on the same night the GOP regained control of the U.S. Senate and likely retained its House majority, meant Democrats needed to come together and “fight” for their values.
“Despair is a luxury our children cannot afford, and action is the antidote to despair, and we will continue the fight to hold this country up to its spectacular, unfulfilled aspiration,” he said. “Cynicism and despair is what they want you to feel, and despair is a luxury that the future can’t afford.”
The Daily Beast Podcast episodes are released every Thursday. Like and download on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app. And click here for email updates as each new episode drops.