And stay out!
Days after former President Trump canceled his membership of SAG-AFTRA, the show business union moved to ban Trump from ever applying for readmission on Sunday.
On Sunday, SAG-AFTRA announced in a statement that it passed a resolution banning the former president from applying for readmission. The decision was made during a Zoom conference the day before, citing Trump’s “antagonism of the union’s journalist members and disregard for the values and integrity of the union.”
“Preventing Donald Trump from ever rejoining SAG-AFTRA is more than a symbolic step,” SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris said in the statement. “It is a resounding statement that threatening or inciting harm against fellow members will not be tolerated. An attack against one is an attack against all.”
Trump resigned his membership from the entertainment and media union SAG-AFTRA last week after the union’s national board found “probable cause” that the former president, who had been a member for more than 30 years, had “violated the union’s Constitution” after inciting the deadly Capitol insurrection last month. The former president declared his resignation from the union after its board ordered a hearing by its Disciplinary Committee, which would give Trump the boot from the union if found guilty.
In his letter addressed to SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris, Trump complained that the union had “done nothing” for him as he bragged about his brief cameos in film and television (which include “Zoolander” and “Home Alone 2” and plugged his reality show “The Apprentice”) and about how he “greatly helped” cable news networks by painting himself as a savior of their ratings, even if he thinks those networks are “fake news.”
Carteris and national executive director David White simply responded to Trump’s resignation in a statement by writing: “Thank you.”
Read SAG-AFTRA’s full resolution below.
“WHEREAS, on or about January 13, 2021, disciplinary charges were filed against member Donald J. Trump (“Trump”), alleging that he engaged in actions antagonistic to the interests and integrity of SAG-AFTRA and its members in violation of Article XIV of the Constitution. The charges allege that the former President of the United States incited insurrection against the U.S. government at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and urged and incited anti-journalist animus that resulted in injuries and harm to SAG-AFTRA member journalists; and
WHEREAS, on or about January 19, 2021, the National Board conducted a probable cause determination in which it found that there was sufficient basis for such charges to proceed to a disciplinary hearing; and
WHEREAS, the Disciplinary Committee had set a hearing to be conducted on February 5, 2021, to hear evidence on the charges, and gave proper and sufficient notice to Trump of the hearing; and
WHEREAS, on February 4, 2021, on the eve of the hearing, Trump submitted a letter of resignation from his membership in SAG-AFTRA to President Carteris; and
WHEREAS, by resigning from SAG-AFTRA, Trump voluntarily relinquished any membership rights he may have had under SAG-AFTRA’s governing documents as well as under federal law; and
WHEREAS, the evidence of Mr. Trump’s misconduct and actions antagonistic to the interests of the union and its members is widely known and has been reported by many media sources; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article III(A)(2) of the Constitution, “The National Board has discretion to deny membership to any applicant if, in its judgment, his or her admission to membership would not be in the best interests of the Union;”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Board exercises its discretion pursuant to Article III(A)(2) of the Constitution, as follows:
The National Board hereby finds that the well-documented actions by Donald J. Trump to undermine the peaceful transition of power in the United States, and to undermine the delivery of truthful information to the public by attacking journalists is anathema to the values embodied by SAG-AFTRA and to the members of SAG-AFTRA; and
The National Board hereby finds that any future re-admission to membership of Donald J. Trump would not be in the best interests of the union; and
The National Board hereby directs that any future application for admission to membership in SAG-AFTRA by Donald J. Trump shall be denied.
