As Predicted, Donald Trump Wakes Up And Rants About Meryl Streep On Twitter

#1

This time it was the turn of Meryl Streep, who masterfully called out the president-elect at the Golden Globes without even mentioning his name.

Trump had already called Streep "a Hillary lover" in a short but revealing interview with the New York Times. But naturally he couldn't resist a Twitter storm:

#2

Mr. Trump, in a brief telephone interview, said he had not seen Ms. Streep's remarks or other parts of the Globes ceremony, which were broadcast on NBC, but he added that he was "not surprised" that he had come under attack from "liberal movie people."

The Globes were the last high-profile Hollywood event before Mr. Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, a transfer of power that many in the entertainment industry have bemoaned.

While anti-Trump comments at the Globes were relatively restrained, Ms. Streep, one of the most outspoken progressives in the film world, mounted a powerful critique of Mr. Trump's abilities as a performer, complimenting in a backhanded way a style of showmanship that she all but called insidious.

"There was one performance this year that stunned me it sank its hooks in my heart," Ms. Streep said. "Not because it was good; there was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh, and show their teeth.

"It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter," she said, referring to a speech by Mr. Trump in 2015 when he shuddered and flailed his arms, seeming to mock a disabled reporter for The New York Times. "It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can't get it out of my head, because it wasn't in a movie. It was real life."

Mr. Trump, as he has done many times before, grew heated in the interview as he flatly denied that he had intended to make fun of the Times reporter, Serge F. Kovaleski.

"I was never mocking anyone," Mr. Trump said. "I was calling into question a reporter who had gotten nervous because he had changed his story," arguing that the reporter had been trying to back away from an article he wrote in September 2001 about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and elsewhere that month.

"People keep saying I intended to mock the reporter's disability, as if Meryl Streep and others could read my mind, and I did no such thing," he said in the interview.

"And remember, Meryl Streep introduced Hillary Clinton at her convention, and a lot of these people supported Hillary," Mr. Trump said, referring to Ms. Streep's remarks at the Democratic National Convention last summer on behalf of his opponent, Mrs. Clinton.

Later Monday morning, Mr. Trump, in a series of tweets, called Ms. Streep "one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood," and "a Hillary flunky who lost big." He also reiterated his argument that he had not mocked the reporter "but simply showed him ‘groveling.'"

#3

Ms. Streep's artful denunciation of Mr. Trump whom she never mentioned by name drew applause from many other actors at the Globes ceremony, but also attacks online from the president-elect's allies, like Sean Hannity, as well as some Republicans, like Meghan McCain, who are critical of Mr. Trump but see Hollywood liberals as only emboldening his supporters.

Ms. Streep's speech did not seem intended to win people over she spoke dismissively of football and mixed martial arts at one point but rather to voice frustration and anger before Mr. Trump's inauguration.

"This instinct to humiliate, when it's modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing," she said in her remarks. "Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose."

#4

Mr. Trump said that, Ms. Streep and her allies aside, he was confident that celebrities and others would turn out in strong numbers for his inauguration.

"We are going to have an unbelievable, perhaps record-setting turnout for the inauguration, and there will be plenty of movie and entertainment stars," Mr. Trump said. "All the dress shops are sold out in Washington. It's hard to find a great dress for this inauguration."

#5

Calling Meryl Streep arguably the best actress of her generation with three Oscars, eight Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and 19 Oscar nominations overrated didn't really play well with Twitter:

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

So predictable was Trump's tweet, that people anticipated it last night:

#13

#14

#15

#16

While others noted that it took a loooong time for Trump to type between the tweets:

#17

Twitter blew up last night as soon as she was finished giving her speech. Check out more people's response to Streep's impassioned speech.

#18

Many A-list stars applauded Streep, with some describing her speech as 'brave'.

#19

Ellen DeGeneres tweeted: 'There has never been anyone like Meryl Streep. I love her'.

#20

Bette Middler also voiced her support, writing: 'Thank God for Meryl Streep, who spoke truth to Power at the Golden Globes tonight calling out He Who Must Be Worshiped, w/o saying his name.'

#21

Actress Julianne Moore quoted a line from the speech, tweeting: '"When the powerful use their position to bully other, we all lose" thank you.

#22

Judd Apatow added: 'We will need a lot of people as clear and brave as Meryl if we are to fight the corruption, bad ideas and lies of Donald Trump.'

#23

However, other social media users criticized the speech, saying it showed exactly why Trump won the presidential elections.

#24

'This Meryl Streep speech is why Trump won. And if people in Hollywood don't start recognizing why and how - you will help him get re-elected,' wrote Fox News host Meghan McCain.

#25

Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham added: 'Meryl Streep, a phenomenal actress, is utterly tedious & pedestrian as a political commentator.'

#26

Others joked about how Trump - who famously tweets off at just about anyone who offends him - would respond to the speech on Twitter.

#27

'Trump is currently drafting a tweet to trash Meryl Streep, but can't figure out what to say because he can't use words like 'loser' & 'overrated,' wrote journalist Jonathan Merritt.

#28

Former MSNBC host Ronan Farrow also quipped that Streep's speech was merely to promote her anti-Mixed Martial Arts agenda.

#29

Streep said in her speech that without Hollywood's long list of actors who are also immigrants, people would have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts.

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

No matter which side you fall on in the debate, there is no debate that Streep took the platform she was given and bared herself to the American people.

#37

If you missed her speech you can view it here.