‘Lord of the Rings’ Star Ian McKellen Takes Odd Shot at Donald Trump’s Oratory Skills

Former President Donald Trump is — often frivolously — accused of a long and varied list of things.

One critique you don’t hear nearly as often from the peanut gallery, however, is that Trump is not a good performative speaker.

(The man is in the WWE Hall of Fame, and professional wrestling is a modern-day vaudeville act, after all.)

That’s no longer the case after acclaimed actor Sir Ian McKellen, perhaps best known to worldwide audiences for his portrayal of the wizard Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings” movies, took a random potshot at the 45th President of the United States in an interview.

Speaking about a wide range of topics with The Times of London, McKellen blasted the oratory skills of Trump.

Trending:

Travis Kelce Says Secret Service Threatened to Tase Him During White House Visit: ‘They Weren’t Too Happy with Me’

“Trump is an absolute bewilderment,” McKellen said, with The Times noting that the thespian likes to watch CNN.

That proclivity toward CNN does explain a bit of why McKellen is so inclined to blast Trump, but that’s hardly unique to the British actor.

“I haven’t seen him live,” McKellen continued. “But he’s one of the worst public speakers there has ever been. Whether he’s reading a script or not, it’s so patent what he is.”

McKellen levied one last potshot at Trump by recounting his personal childhood: “I remember leaving my school [in Bolton] in the sixth form and cycling down to the town square to see [Welsh Labor Party leader] Aneurin Bevan on the hustings without a microphone.

Do you think Trump is a good orator?

“There aren’t any great orators like that around, are there?”

The 85-year-old actor discussed a great number of other topics with The Times, including the inevitable end of his acting career looming. But the shots against Trump stick out in the interview like a sore thumb, simply due to comparative optics.

Whatever one may think of Trump’s oratory skills, it’s virtually inarguable that Trump is a better speaker — by a rather large margin, mind you — than incumbent President Joe Biden.

Trump and Biden will be inextricably linked to each other as they go head-to-head in the November general election, and all manner of comparison between the two will be inevitable.

When it comes to matters of the economy, world relations or fundraising, Trump pretty easily clears Biden — hence why every critique you hear about the former president these days is about the bogus 34 charges he’s been convicted of in a so-called hush money trial in New York.

Related:

World Leader Tells Tucker Carlson Democrats Making a ‘Huge, Huge Mistake’ with Persecution of Trump

And that’s what makes McKellen’s comments so odd.

If you concede the actor’s point and accept his premise that Trump’s a terrible orator … what does that make the highly correctable Biden?

Unintelligible? Incoherent? Undecipherable?

Given that every American (even Democrats, deep down inside) knows the answer to the above question, critics of Donald Trump would do best to steer away from any mention of oratory skills, at least until November.


An Important Message from Our Staff:

 

We who work here at The Western Journal have fought for years against Big Tech and the elites who want to shut us down and then shut America down. 

 

Make no mistake — nothing will be the same after November 2024. Will you help us fight? Will you help us expose the America-hating elites who will do everything they can to steal this election? 

 

We’re a small group of people fighting to save the country for our readers and for our own family and friends. Can we count on your help?

 

At this point, Big Tech has cut off our access to 90% of advertisers. Imagine if someone took 90% of your paycheck and there was nothing you could do. They’re trying to starve us out.

 

Donations from readers like you have literally helped keep our lights on, and we need you now more than ever. 

 

We operate on a shoestring budget, but with that budget, we terrify the globalists. Please help us continue the fight. Stand with us, and we will never surrender.

 

Thank you for reading The Western Journal and for believing in America. 

 

It is a pleasure to serve you.

 

P.S. Please don’t let the America-hating left win. Stand with us today!

Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.

Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.

Birthplace

Hawaii

Education

Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.

Location

Phoenix, Arizona

Languages Spoken

English, Korean

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech

Source link