Amanda Seyfried confirms anti-Trump stance after Instagram post leaves fans confused

‘Ask not what you can do for your country but what your country can do for you’

Amanda Seyfried has clarified her opposition to Donald Trump’s presidency after fans were confused by an Instagram post which appeared to quote the controversial leader.

“Ask not what you can do for your country but what your country can do for you,” she posted, beside an image of Trump’s face and a sad face emoji earlier today.

After fans misinterpreted the post as an endorsement of Trump, and Seyfried began trending on Twitter, the Mean Girls actor explained that the quote was not from the current president, but rather she was paraphrasing a speech from the former Democrat leader John F Kennedy.

“For those of you who were confused by my last story,” she began. “It’s a JFK quote about compassion. What I did was match the lack of empathy and leadership of our current ‘leader’.”

The 34-year-old actor reversed the order of the original speech – “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” – in an attempt to illustrate the differing ideals of the presidents.

In 2018, the Mamma Mia star told Elle magazine that she had felt the urge to get married – to fellow actor Thomas Sadoski – after Trump was elected.

“The world was going mad”, she said. “I was like: ‘This is a dream I might never wake up from. If that’s the case, let’s just get married.’”

Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been widely criticised. He recently backtracked on his suggestion of imposing a quarantine in New York after the state’s governor said doing so would be “preposterous”.

The president has also been mocked and condemned for bragging about the large number of people watching his coronavirus briefings and suggesting he is a “ratings hit”.