Stars of 24: Legacy join “the resistance” against Donald Trump
There’s a lot of ways to tell the story of how out-of-touch Donald Trump is with America— the millions of people in the streets around the world, the dozens of government officials resigning in disgust—but is anything more telling than this: he’s lost the cast of 24. Yes, 24, that classic Bush-era show dedicated to action, ‘enhanced interrogation,’ and other extraordinary intelligence operations which Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff once glowingly said, “reflects real life.” It’s about to return with a new iteration, 24: Legacy. At its premiere this week in Manhattan, its stars spoke about the massive protests that have roiled the world since the election, and Trump’s attempt to ban legal immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries.
“I love the fact that people are going out there and using their constitutional right for dissent,” said Jimmy Smitts, who plays presidential candidate John Donovan in the show (and who played Democratic president Matt Santos on The West Wing). “Just as the political climate is what it is, and the election results are what they are, the people can become activated by doing what they’re doing. I do hope it inspires, especially in young voters, some activism that we’ve been sorely lacking.”
Charlie Hofheimer, who played Peggy Olson’s psudeo-radical boyfriend Abe Drexler on Mad Men, appears on 24: Legacy as PTSD-afflicted veteran Marcus Grimes. Hofheimer and his friends all wore “No Ban” pins to the event, referring to Friday’s immigration executive order.
“Our show has immigrants in our cast,” he said. “We’re all children and grandchildren of immigrants. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to wear this tonight, but sometimes saying nothing is still saying something . . . I personally felt responsible to take this moment and this platform, and in some small way add my voice to the resistance”