Matt Damon on President Obama: 'He Has Some Explaining to Do'
Matt Damon campaigned heavily for President Obama during his 2008 election, but the actor recently revealed that he is disappointed and feels fooled by the President, especially when it comes to national security and drone usage.
"There are a lot of things that I really question," Damon told BET. "The legality of those drone strikes and these NSA revelations are like, you know … Jimmy Carter came out and said we don't live in a democracy. That's a little intense when an ex-president says that. So you know, he's got some explaining to do, particularly for a constitutional law professor."
The NSA has come under fire since the revelation of spying on American citizens nationwide. Many question whether Obama has the country's best interest at heart, and the idea of drone use to spy on and take out enemies has many upset. Drones cannot differentiate between enemies and civilians, and more drones have been used under the Obama administration than at any other time.
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"I've talked to a lot of people who worked for Obama at the grassroots level," Damon said in 2011. "One of them said to me, 'Never again. I will never be fooled again by a politician.' You know, a one-term president … who actually got stuff done would have been, in the long run of the country, much better."
Damon's latest film, "Elysium," which opens in theaters today, has been critiqued as a praise of socialist thinking and an argument for a socialist utopia. In the film, factory worker Max (Damon) attempts to save his life by getting to space station Elysium, where the wealthy live with free and spectacular healthcare. At the same time, Damon's decision to break in to the heavily-guarded utopia could lead to a revolution and equality among everyone living in the year 2154.
"Elysium" is a film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, who also wrote "District 9," a film that examined the idea of apartheid in South Africa.
