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Facing Disciplinary Hearing, Trump Quits SAG-AFTRA Union: 'You Have Done Nothing For Me'
Donald Trump attends "Celebrity Apprentice" event at Trump Tower in 2015 in New York City. (Rob Kim/Getty Images)
"I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares!"
So begins former president Donald Trump's letter to SAG-AFTRA, resigning his membership. His letter was in response to the union investigating whether to discipline him for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, for which he also faces a second impeachment vote. (Note: The LAist/KPCC newsroom is unionized through SAG-AFTRA.)
After that opening salvo, Trump follows by bragging about his own IMDb listings relative to actress and SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris, best known for her role in the hit 1990s series "Beverly Hills 90210."
He writes:
"While I’m not familiar with your work, 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 — to name just a few!"
He goes on to criticize the union itself, saying that it's done little for its members and nothing for Trump himself, "besides collecting dues and promising dangerous un-American policies and ideas." He cites the "massive unemployment rates" of union members, as well as "lawsuits from celebrated actors."
Finally, Trump says that he no longer wishes to be associated with the union, and is therefore resigning.
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It’s a shift from Republican icon Ronald Reagan, who, before becoming president, served as president of SAG-AFTRA.
The possible penalties from SAG-AFTRA that Trump had been facing included reprimand, censure, fines, suspension from the rights and privileges of membership, or expulsion from the union.
SAG-AFTRA's response to the letter: "Thank you."
You can read Trump's full letter below.
READ TRUMP'S RESIGNATION LETTER
Page 1 of Trump resigns from SAG-AFTRA
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Contributed to DocumentCloud by KPCC Documents (Southern California Public Radio) • View document or read text
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