Debra Messing Claps Back as Trump Tries to Feud with Her on Twitter: 'The LAST Thing That Should Be on His Mind'
Hurricane Dorian may be set to soak the East Coast and Texas may be reeling from its second mass shooting in a month, but President Donald Trump still found time to focus on something else this weekend: actress Debra Messing.
Trump, 73, made the Will & Grace star a Twitter target on Sunday after Messing, 51, pushed for the release of names from a Trump fundraiser in Beverly Hills, California.
One day earlier, Messing had retweeted an article from The Hollywood Reporter about Trump’s upcoming appearance at the event.
“Please print a list of all attendees please. The public has a right to know,” she wrote.
Within 24 hours, Trump hit back, recalling an instance in the early 2000s in which, he said, Messing had called him “Sir” and thanked him for revitalizing the lineup of NBC, where Will & Grace was airing.
“I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do The Apprentice, and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC’s failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me ‘Sir.’ How times have changed!” wrote Trump, who is no stranger to personally calling out celebrities.
Messing, who regularly shares her political views online, took his attack in stride and instead used her platform not to throw digs back but to try and turn the focus toward Dorian’s approach and gun violence prevention.
“I’d rather you bring attention to the Category 5 Hurricane #Dorian threatening our south eastern coast, and the tragic & preventable shooting that occurred yesterday in Texas,” she tweeted on Sunday.
I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do The Apprentice, and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC’s failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me “Sir.” How times have changed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2019
Now that I know I have your attention @realDonaldTrump, please read this thread— a PARTIAL list of souls lost to preventable,devastating gun violence. America wants universal background checks. The majority of Americans want assault weapons ban. Take Action and I’ll call you Sir. https://t.co/BnaS9zgNps
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) September 1, 2019
She continued: “Now that I know I have your attention @realDonaldTrump, please read this thread- a PARTIAL list of souls lost to preventable, devastating gun violence. America wants universal background checks. The majority of Americans want assault weapons bans. Take Action and I’ll call you Sir.”
Messing also explained her reasoning as to why she’d requested the attendance for the fundraiser be made public, writing that when she donates, she’s “proud” to do so and would assume anyone who donates to Trump would feel the same.
She later shared a list of campaigns she had donated to.
RELATED VIDEO: Amid Celeb Criticism He ‘Inspires’ Mass Shooters, Trump Condemns Racism and Violent Video Games
I am proud to be a donor when I contribute to a campaign. I am happy to be listed when I attend a fundraiser. I am assuming anyone who donates to Trump’s fundraiser would feel the same. Why wouldn’t they?
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) September 1, 2019
“So! I woke up this morning to my phone notifications going crazy. I got scared. I thought ‘Oh NO! Don’t tell me there is a 3rd mass shooting this weekend! Don’t tell me the Bahamians have lost their homes, their Lives by Hurricane #dorian!” she later wrote on Instagram.
“It was Trump. NOT CALLING McConnell and demanding an end to the recess, and an emergency meeting to pass the gun violence bills passed by the House months ago. NOT reversing his decision to move $155 MILLION DOLLARS from the FEMA Disaster Fund to ICE. Nope. What was on Trump’s mind in the midst of such tragedy, was me. The LAST thing that should be on his mind or in his tweets,” Messing wrote.
Amid his more typical tweets attacking his political opponents and criticizing the media, Trump has also repeatedly tweeted about Dorian and the Texas shooting. Though he canceled a trip to Europe in advance of Dorian, he has reportedly played golf during prep for the storm.
RELATED: Debra Messing Takes Another Swipe at Susan Sarandon Over Trump: ‘Liking the Revolution?’
Celebrities such as Patricia Arquette, Mia Farrow, Bette Midler and Bradley Whitford all chimed in in response to the president’s “Sir” tweet, expressing umbrage similar to Messing.
“Dear @realDonaldTrump, When one has manners (i.e. @DebraMessing), it says more about the quality of the person using them than it does about upon whom they are bestowed. Until you are willing to use your Bully Pulpit to force #MoscowMitch to a vote, you will never #beBest sir!” Midler wrote on Twitter.
