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In a Nov. 9 post-strike interview with THR, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher discussed her career plans. The actress, who in September was elected to another two-year term at the helm of the union, recalled that after the announced deal with the studios, “Meryl Streep said to me, ‘This is great, now go run for [U.S.] president.’ ” In response, Drescher sent mixed messages, noting both that “I don’t want that job” and “I do think that we’ll see. Time will tell.”
The notion’s not outlandish. After all, B-movie actor turned 40th U.S. president Ronald Reagan was the head of SAG during its last strike, in 1960. Drescher’s not new to policy discussions. Her advocacy work on behalf of her organization Cancer Schmancer (she herself is a survivor) was acknowledged in the Congressional Record for helping pass the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005, which works to reduce female mortality rates through prevention and early diagnosis. The State Department later tapped her as a women’s health envoy. In 2008, she considered running for New York’s junior Senate seat when Hillary Clinton was appointed secretary of state. THR took the pulse of a pair of Democratic Party consultants who were split on her viability in a campaign on the national level.
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Yes, She Can!
“She has an amazing ability to have people smile while wielding power. That’s a rare talent. [And] she helps people stand up — but she herself is not negative. Also, Fran Drescher has been through all kinds of tribulations that could have stopped her, and it has led her to this triumphant victory for working people. That’s important in our current vortex of negativism. So, I think there is definitely a lane.”
No, She Can’t!
“Look, she’s very smart, very dynamic, she’s got a unique and magical way of getting people to pay attention to her. But I don’t think she’s a well-informed person, and I don’t think she’s substantive. The way she has talked about vaccinations, for instance. I’ve heard her speak during her visits to D.C., and she has said other alarming, unscientific things. It’d recirculate. Very RFK Jr. It’s a liability if she were serious about running.”
A version of this story first appeared in the Nov. 29 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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