The Substance star Dennis Quaid admits he’s ‘conservative’ as he gushes over Trump

Dennis Quaid, star of The Substance and The Parent Trap, has hit out at Hollywood for being too left-wing as he gushed over president Donald Trump.

The veteran actor, 71, appeared on pastor Greg Laurie’s podcast The Greg Laurie Show!, on 18 February, where he waxed lyrical about the “genuine” and “funny” Republican president.

During their conversation, Laurie suggested that politics in the US had gone “so extremely, so far left”.

Quaid appeared to agree, arguing that being a Clinton Democrat today – i.e. someone who is a centre or centre-left Democrat supporter – is deemed the “same thing as being a neo-con [neo-conservative], on the right side or whatever”.

“What used to be, you can’t be anymore,” he added.

The actor, who was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of former US president Bill Clinton in HBO’s 2010 drama The Special Relationship, went on to declare himself politically as a “common-sense independent”.

“I’m a common-sense independent myself. You know, I think I lean more conservative in my head,” he said, adding: “I’m just for common sense.”

However, he went on to lather Donald Trump with praise, gushing that the 79-year-old Republican is “very surprisingly approachable and very funny and really genuine”.

“He wouldn’t be president if he wasn’t genuine. The people who voted for him, they know that he has their best interests at heart, that he is a genuine person,” Quaid said.

“I’ve never seen anybody with that kind of energy,” he continued. “People say that about me, but he’s really got a lot of energy.”

Quaid stated his intention to vote for Trump in 2024, telling Piers Morgan in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored that Trump as president “just makes sense”.

“I myself, I think I’m gonna vote for him… in the next election. Yes, I am,” he said at the time. 

“It just seems to me, it just makes sense,” he continued. “I was ready not to vote for Trump until — what I saw is more than politics. I see a weaponisation of our justice system, and a challenge to our Constitution.”

He explained that he was a fan of how Trump navigated foreign affairs.

“As president, the only thing I liked about Trump was everything he did,” Quaid said, offering his approach to China and South Korea as examples. “How he stood up for us overseas… and the way he responded to China… He stands up to people, and that’s what makes him a leader.”

In October 2024, Quaid appeared at a rally for Trump, praising him as the best president since Ronald Reagan.

“It’s amazing how the issues of the 1980 election are very similar to what they are today,” Quaid said, comparing the two presidents.

“We were a nation in decline. That’s what they told us… Ronald Reagan came along and said, no, we’re not a nation in decline. We’re going there. And we followed him. The same with Trump, with President Trump. My favourite president of the 21st century.”

In addition to portraying Bill Clinton, Quaid starred as Ronald Reagan in the 2024 biopic film, Reagan.

Like Trump, Ronald Reagan has a negative legacy when it comes to his relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. He was president from 1981 through to 1989, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. There was little government support for those affected, and tens of thousands of people died due to AIDS-related complications while he was in office.

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