Inflation ripping apart the middle class, gas prices that make people cry at the pump, the constant specter of World War III haunting us as the Russo-Ukraine War drags on with deepened US involvement, and societal hatreds rising in intensity and fervor are the defining aspects, to many Americans, of the Joe Biden presidency so far. Oliver Stone, speaking with Russell Brand, spoke about Biden’s issues and why he regrets voting for Biden in a recent interview.
The director, who has won two Oscars, spoke with Brand about the current geopolitical situation, saying that we’re drifting ever closer to World War III for no good reason, instead just going along with fears and old alliances rather than trying to stop the needless bloodbath.
He said, when describing what’s happening in Europe’s bloodlands, “This is a potential World War III. This is the same situation as World War I, in a sense. The stupidity of it — because of the alliances and the fears and the built-up phobias.“
He then added that he blames Biden for America’s reaction to the system and regrets having enabled it by voting for Biden, saying, “If we don’t stop this, what Biden is doing, I voted for him — I made a mistake! — thinking that he was an old man now that he would calm down, he’d be more mellow and so forth. I didn’t see that at all.”
Stone then added that Biden seems to not be even in charge of his own administration, so the drift toward a potentially disastrous war is thanks to people pulling the strings behind the curtains, or just because of a senile president’s drift in one direction without even intending to do so.
He said, “I see a man [Biden] who maybe is not in charge of his own administration. Who knows [if] he’s going to fall down somewhere. It seems that he’s dragging us stupidly into a confrontation with a power that’s not going to give.”
Watch Stone talk to brand about the issue here:
"I voted for him – I made a mistake!" @TheOliverStone flags his concerns about the US's involvement in the Ukraine & Russia war – don't miss our full conversation streaming SOON on Rumble pic.twitter.com/FW3TXBjRm7
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) July 28, 2023
This isn’t the first time Stone, a liberal, has spoken out against the liberal orthodoxy on a subject. For example, he blasted the deplatforming of Trump in 2021, saying that cancelation and censorship are evil and represent America’s decline as an empire.
“Of course I despise it. I am sure I’ve been cancelled by some people for all the comments I’ve made…. it’s like a witch hunt. It’s terrible. American censorship in general, because it is a declining, defensive, empire, it [America] has become very sensitive to any criticism,” he said at the time.
Continuing, he said it is ridiculous and shocking that the tech titans and near-monopolies would stoop to censoring the President of the United States, saying, “What is going on in the world with YouTube and social media. Twitter is the worst. They’ve banned the ex-President of the United States. It’s shocking!”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video