When comedian and Arrested Development star David Cross went on the road earlier this year for his first tour in five years he was making plenty of Donald Trump jokes, assuming (like a number of his joke-telling friends) that there was no way the former Apprentice star was going to be elected to the White House. How sure was he? He named his outing the “Making America Great Again! Tour.”
He’s not laughing so hard now, and in order to fill the hole in his heart the Mr. Show veteran is trying to make something good happen out of his distress. In the run-up to Black Friday, Cross posted a note to his fans (entitled “I Know… I Can’t Believe it Either”), reacting to the election results and offering his followers a chance to make a donation to a good cause.
“So here we are; A Brave New Lord of the Flies World,” wrote Cross. “This is a note for those who didn’t feel the need to ‘take our country back’ on November 8th (approximately 27% of eligible voters) — it is for the other 73% of Americans who either did vote alternatively to Trump (Clinton, Stein, Johnson, or maybe Harambe), or weren’t able to vote due to restrictions put in place after many parts of the voting rights act were gutted in ‘13, or perhaps those now feeling guilty for not voting at all.”
Not content to just finger-point, Cross said he had been brainstorming ways to do something in the short term as the left prepares to “take our country back.” His idea is to make the CD of those shows, America… Great, available for sale on his site through Dec. 26 with a pledge to donate 100 percent of the $10 sale price (or $25 signed copy) to the American Civil Liberties Union. Cross’ efforts join a movement by a broad coalition of former Hillary Clinton supporters to make preemptive donations to organizations aiding groups who feel anxious about pledges candidate Trump made during the campaign to roll back some of the rights and protections enacted by President Obama.
“To make sure this is clear, when I say 100%, I mean the full retail price- I’m going to cover all the other costs. So if you buy a $25 or a $10 CD, I’m going to give the ACLU all $25 or $10 of that, respectively (and respectfully.)” he wrote. In fact, he’s pledged to match the sales 100 percent himself, so that $10,000 in sales will mean $20,000 for the ACLU. “Then I’ll ask people I know who are rich to help with that match. Maybe Scott Baio or The Nuge?” he joked.
“I really believe in America and thus, believe that we can get through this. But it’s going to be a nasty next few years to say the least. And we have to look out for each other – particularly those who can’t look out for themselves or who are at the highest risk for the kinds of awfulness we’ve gotten just a small taste of so far these past couple of weeks. The ACLU is a service that is going to be needed by so many very, very soon. Muslims, the LGBT community, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, journalists, women, Sikhs, Native Americans, African Americans, the list goes on and on unfortunately. And to be sure, it’s not just the above that will be needing the ACLU’s help, it’s also anyone seen supporting these folks with love, respect, and tolerance. Because that’s what truly galls these people, (sometimes spurring them to violence)… Empathy makes their blood boil.”