Tom Hanks Explains Why He Won’t Screen ‘The Post’ In Donald Trump’s White House

Getting invited to the White House to screen your movie for the President — or even having it requested by the Oval Office — has, in years past, been seen as an honor, no matter your political stripes. But these are very different times. Storming into the awards season with a very timely message about the freedom of the press, and the important work journalists do in keeping government accountable, Steven Spielberg‘s “The Post” rides hard on the pulse of the moment. It’s perhaps understandable why Donald Trump — if you can pull him away from his eight hours of television per day — probably isn’t interested in the movie. But if he was, he might have a hard time getting a copy.

THR posed the hypothetical question of the White House requesting “The Post” to the film’s star, Tom Hanks, and he makes it pretty clear he’d decline the invitation.

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“That’s an interesting question. I don’t think I would,” he explained. “Because I think that at some point — look, I didn’t think things were going to be this way last November. I would not have been able to imagine that we would be living in a country where neo-Nazis are doing torchlight parades in Charlottesville [Va.] and jokes about Pocahontas are being made in front of the Navajo code talkers. And individually we have to decide when we take to the ramparts. You don’t take to the ramparts necessarily right away, but you do have to start weighing things. You may think: ‘You know what? I think now is the time.’ This is the moment where, in some ways, our personal choices are going to have to reflect our opinions. We have to start voting, actually, before the election. So, I would probably vote not to go.”

Well said, Hanks. So, if Donald Trump wants to see “The Post,” he’ll have to turn off Fox News and go with everyone else when it opens on Friday.