Oscar-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda revealed she lies in bed imagining conversations with President Donald Trump in a candid podcast interview this week, saying she tries to reach the “traumatized person” behind his behavior.
The 88-year-old actress spoke with Vox Media’s Kara Swisher about what she would say to the president if given the opportunity, drawing on her personal connection to Trump through her ex-husband, media mogul and CNN founder Ted Turner.
Fonda explained that Trump once “really liked and admired” Turner, to whom she was married for a decade. She said the two men share similarities, including “early trauma at the hands of the father.”
In the interview, Fonda described Trump’s actions as “the language of the traumatized” and said she would try to reach the wounded person beneath the behavior—while acknowledging she doubts she would succeed. She added that “all these guys,” including Elon Musk, are “not well.”
Fonda’s comments came weeks after she appeared on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert in January, where she delivered a stark warning about the state of American democracy under the Trump administration.
“Authoritarianism has made its way into every single nook and cranny of our government,” Fonda told Colbert. She referenced ICE operations in Minneapolis, saying agents were “kidnapping people” and “legally deporting American citizens.”
The activist referenced the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 7. Good, 37, was a U.S. citizen killed after her vehicle was stopped during an active ICE operation. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Good had attempted to “weaponize her vehicle” against an officer.
Fonda also referenced 21-year-old Kaden Rummler, a college student who was permanently blinded in his left eye after being shot in the face by a federal agent with a less-lethal projectile during a January 9 protest in Santa Ana, California.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded to Fonda’s criticism, saying in a statement: “ICE officers are facing a 1300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears like this. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism.”
Fonda urged Americans to organize and resist what she characterized as authoritarian policies, stressing that the fight transcends party lines.
The actress has intensified her activism since Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. She used her Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award speech at the 2025 SAG-AFTRA Awards to call for resistance, declaring “We must not isolate. We must stay in community. We must help the vulnerable.”
In October 2025, Fonda relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment, a McCarthy-era initiative that included her father, legendary actor Henry Fonda, as an early member. The organization was created to defend constitutional rights against government overreach.
The newly relaunched committee attracted over 550 celebrities initially, with membership continuing to grow. In her letter seeking support, Fonda wrote: “The only thing that has ever worked—time and time again—is solidarity: binding together, finding bravery in numbers too big to ignore.”
Fonda told Colbert that the entertainment industry must refuse to serve as a pillar of support for what she views as an authoritarian regime, arguing that governments are “only as strong as the pillars of support” and that she wants to remove entertainment as one of those pillars.
The actress also addressed concerns about the upcoming midterm elections, stating that “the president is already telling us that he’s prepared to mess with the midterms.” She urged Americans to “exercise democracy” and return to grassroots organizing, citing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory as an example of effective community engagement.
Fonda’s activism spans decades, including protests against the Vietnam War and participation in the Civil Rights Movement. At 88, she shows no signs of stepping back from political engagement, encouraging Americans to “understand authoritarianism and how it can be defeated” while building supportive communities to weather unprecedented challenges to democratic freedoms.