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President Trump boasted about progress made with one of his Hollywood Special Ambassadors, Jon Voight.
The commander-in-chief admitted he had a “great and very interesting meeting” with the “movie legend,” who he appointed to a special envoy in 2025 which includes Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone.
“He is a fantastic man who loves our Country, and feels strongly about the Motion Picture and Television Industry,” Trump shared on his Truth Social platform.
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Donald Trump has a longtime friend in actor Jon Voight, who he appointed as a special ambassador to Hollywood in 2025. (Mandel Ngan)
“He hates what’s happened to it! It is being dissipated in its entirety. It has moved to Canada, and other Countries, with very little work being done anymore in the United States.”
Trump continued, “Hollywood is a Complete and Total Disaster! Despite the name, it is getting very little work. There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly.”
The president noted that Jon, along with industry leaders, suggested a federal tax incentive in order to “Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
“The amount of money spent on Tax Incentives will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury’s coffers,” Trump wrote. “Meetings are being set up with the Leaders of both Parties in order to get this done. It should be Bipartisan, especially since so much money is being lost in California, and other largely Blue States.
“I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America. Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America.”
Jon Voight proposed a detailed plan in May 2025 to President Donald Trump to “Make Hollywood Great Again.” (Steven Paul)
He added, “It can be done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America. What we watch on the Silver Screen should be made in what was once the Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World. Let’s get this done!”
Voight’s representatives did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin welcomed the proposal from Trump.
“For over a century, American studios, casts, and crews have produced the films and series that the world wants to see,” he said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “A federal incentive would be a landmark step toward bringing more production to local communities in all 50 states, strengthening our nation’s economy, and making our country a more competitive place to produce, create, and tell great stories.”
Rivkin added, “We applaud President Trump’s support for this vital action, and we look forward to continuing to work with the White House and bipartisan leaders in Congress to enact a meaningful and effective national incentive into law.”
Shortly before Inauguration Day for his second term in office, Trump revealed the Special Ambassadors program in efforts to promote business in Hollywood.
Trump appointed Sylvestor Stallone, Jon Voight, and Mel Gibson to his special ambassadors program last year. (Getty Images)
“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
He added, “These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!”
In May 2025, Voight, along with special advisor Steven Paul, submitted a “comprehensive plan” to the president to save the film and television industry.
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Voight and Paul met with “dozens of leading film and television organizations (guilds, unions, studios and streamers) about what changes need to be made to increase domestic film production,” according to a statement.
Jon Voight spoke before then President-elect Donald Trump arrived at a rally ahead of his Inauguration. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
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The meeting was conducted in person with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and included SP Media Group/Atlas Comics President Scott Karol.
“The proposal includes federal tax incentives, significant changes to several tax codes, the establishment of co-production treaties with foreign countries, and infrastructure subsidies for theater owners, film and television production companies, and post-production companies,” the statement said. “The proposal also includes a focus on job training, and tariffs in certain limited circumstances.”
He added, “This plan is about leveling the playing field so that producing right here in America is not only a competitive option, but the first choice.”
Jon Voight attended the Commander in Chief Ball at the inauguration of Donald Trump. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The White House and its relevant policy advisors were in the process of reviewing the proposal.
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“While President Trump regularly corresponds with his Hollywood Ambassadors, including Jon Voight, to restore America’s cultural dominance, it was President Trump himself who formulated the idea of using tariffs to Make Hollywood Great Again,” White House Spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital at the time.
President Donald Trump on Monday pressed Congress to pass federal tax breaks to revive the U.S.’s film industry, after speaking with his “special ambassador” to Hollywood, actor Jon Voight.
Trump revealed he had a “great” meeting with the “fantastic” Voight in a post to Truth Social. The president expressed concern that Hollywood is losing ground to Canada and other countries, and argued new federal tax incentives could bring the industry back to California. The amount of funds spent on tax breaks for the film industry to bring back “entertainment jobs” will be made up “tenfold by the money pouring into” the Treasury Department’s coffers, Trump claimed.
“I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America. Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America,” Trump said.
“Meetings are being set up with the Leaders of both Parties in order to get this done. It should be Bipartisan, especially since so much money is being lost in California, and other largely Blue States,” he added. “It can be done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America. What we watch on the Silver Screen should be made in what was once the Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World. Let’s get this done!”
Members of Congress are working on legislation that could be introduced as soon as September, Politico reported over the weekend. The federal production incentive being discussed would be stackable atop states’ incentives, and include a 20% credit for labor both in front of and behind the camera, with a mechanism requiring that the vast majority of the work would go to U.S. personnel, according to the outlet.
Before becoming president, Trump had a long background in the entertainment industry, starring in his hit reality TV show The Apprentice and making cameo appearances in several popular films.
Since assuming office, the president has often warned about Hollywood’s struggles, appointing Voight and others to examine what can be done to revitalize Hollywood, and last year threatened to slap a 100% tariff on all foreign-made films.
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Voight has met with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) over the matter, with a federal tax credit to incentivize production companies emerging as a topic of discussion last June.
“Hollywood is a Complete and Total Disaster! Despite the name, it is getting very little work. There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly,” Trump reiterated Monday. “Jon, and many others in the Industry, are suggesting we do Federal Tax Incentives in order to Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
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Democratic Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed defended his past controversial comments about Fourth of July fireworks during a radio appearance Monday.
While appearing on “The Breakfast Club,” El-Sayed was asked by host Charlamagne tha God about his previous support for defunding the police and criticism of firework celebrations on Independence Day. El-Sayed pushed back against the criticism.
“They’re coming at me on fireworks,” El-Sayed said. “I’m like, ‘All right, first, if your whole conception of America is that it’s fireworks, I’m so sorry. You don’t have a complete conception of America. But even then, right, like what is it?'”
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CNN reported that Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed deleted approximately 100 YouTube videos before launching his campaign. (The Washington Post via Getty Im)
He continued: “I said, ‘Well, every time we do a fireworks show, it destroys the air quality and people have asthma exacerbations and heart attacks the next day.’ That’s all I was saying. You know what I mean? I’m not saying we shouldn’t have fireworks. I’m just saying maybe like there are other ways to show your love.”
El-Sayed’s comments follow a CNN report earlier this month that revealed that El-Sayed deleted or hid approximately 100 YouTube videos before launching his Senate campaign. Among them included a plea that Americans “please” find another way to celebrate the Fourth of July besides using fireworks, citing air quality and the risks to children and pets as reasons.
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The video allegedly included four reasons “why fireworks suck” and a chapter titled “Fireworks just aren’t worth it: hear us out.”
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed previously featured in a video allegedly explaining why fireworks “suck.” (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
While appearing on “Hannity” earlier this month, Republican nominee Mike Rogers called out El-Sayed for his deleted posts and comments.
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“This guy spent hours hating on what most Michiganders would enjoy in their pastimes, and he should be held to account for that,” Rogers said. “These are views that he held, that he was pretty strong about, but he knew that he had to delete them all… If people really knew who he was, they wouldn’t vote for him.”
Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers has called out Abdul El-Sayed for his past comments. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images ; Jeff Kowalsky/ AFP via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to the El-Sayed and Rogers campaigns for comment but did not immediately receive a response.