In a fiery letter sent to SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris (who still occupies her office), President Donald J. Trump (who was trounced from his) officially resigned from SAG-AFTRA yesterday. Trump's resignation obviates the need for the disciplinary proceedings that the union had initiated against him (see this post) based on allegations that his actions during the Capitol insurrection had endangered journalists (many of whom are union members) in violation of the union's constitution.
The seven-paragraph, 229-word letter is classic Trump.
- It is riddled with insults aimed at the union (the proceedings are a "blatant attempt at free media attention to distract from your dismal record as a union"), the cable news industry ("a dying platform with not much time left until I got involved in politics"), and Carteris herself ("I'm not familiar with your work").
- It includes boasts of Trump's many accomplishments in the entertainment industry. ("I’m very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and television shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, and of course, one of the most successful shows in television history, The Apprentice.")
- It contains Trump's gripe - which must sting, since he says it not once, but twice - that SAG-AFTRA has "done nothing for me."
- It feigns indifference ("Who cares!").
- And it includes a handful of grammar, usage and punctuation errors and oddities.
The official response from Carteris and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White consists of two words: "Thank You."