Former President Donald Trump resigned his Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) membership on Feb. 4.
Trump blasted a Disciplinary Committee attempt to remove him from SAG-AFTRA, asking “Who cares!” He emphasized his screen credits, including for the movies Home Alone 2 and Zoolander, and his reality show The Apprentice, which he called “one of the most successful shows in television history.” Trump further claimed that the union was unhelpful to him as a performer. “You have done nothing for me,” he signed off. (RELATED: REPORT: Donald Trump’s Hollywood Salary Makes Drastic Decrease Right Before He Leaves Office)
The Screen Actor’s Guild threatened Donald Trump with removal from their membership because of the events on Jan. 6.
He just sent them this letter and resigned ???????????? pic.twitter.com/uT8hu2SlQh
— Caleb Hull (I’m With the CCP Don’t Ban Me) (@CalebJHull) February 4, 2021
Trump was facing possible expulsion from the Guild before his resignation. SAG-AFTRA members can be expelled for “engaging in actions antagonistic to the interests or integrity of the union.”
After the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, which temporarily halted the certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win, SAG-AFTRA released a statement, “The disgraceful scenes coming out of the nation’s capital have undermined America’s institutions and its standing in the world.” It further claimed that displays of the Confederate flag were “poison attack[ing] the diverse membership of our union and the labor movement.”
Trump was the second president to be a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Ronald Reagan served seven terms as president of SAG-AFTRA, and was instrumental in establishing the residual payment system, according to the Atlantic.