Countless Celebs Have Branded Trump With One Damning Label

Donald Trump has been called many names by many people, but there's one label celebs and public figures have gravitated towards over and over again: bully. Over the years, countless celebs who can't stand Trump have branded him as a bully for one reason or another. Actor Richard Gere, for example, likened Trump to a "bully and a thug" when discussing the state of American politics during the Goya Awards. "We are in a very dark place in America where we have a bully and a thug who is the president of the United States," he said in February 2025. Former First Lady Jill Biden thrust the "bully" label on Trump when addressing the LGBT community, with whom he has a hostile history, in April 2024, ahead of the 2024 presidential election (via OutSmart).

In December 2017, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called Trump a bully after she interpreted his criticism of her, following her comments about his past sexual assault allegations, as sexist. During a "Today" show appearance, she said, "He's a bully and he's been attacking different people across this country since he's been president." Meanwhile, amid his return from having his late-night show suspended because of comments made in response to right-wing ally, Charlie Kirk's death, Jimmy Kimmel trashed Trump, who spearheaded the campaign to get his show (temporarily) booted from the air. "For those who think I go too hard on Donald Trump, to the point where there are still a lot of people who think I should be pulled off the air ... I want to explain: I talk about Trump more than anything because he's a bully," Kimmel said. "I don't like bullies — I played the clarinet in high school," he added.

Of course, the list of people who think that Trump overexerts his power is much longer than those named above. Here's what he's said about the label.

Donald Trump has addressed at least one claim of his supposed bullying head on. 

In December 2023, Trump addressed claims that his "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" cameo only happened because he bullied his way onto the set by leveraging his power as the owner of the Plaza Hotel. The original claim was made by Chris Columbus, who served as the box-office hit's director. He said that, in addition to paying a fee to use the then-Trump-owned Plaza Hotel, Trump claimed that usage of the building was contingent on his involvement in the film. "Nothing could be further from the truth," Trump said in response (via Deadline). "That cameo helped make the movie a success. But if they felt bullied, or didn't want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there for over 30 years?" He also claimed the filmmakers repeatedly asked him to be in the film.

Despite Trump's denial, Columbus still believes that Trump's "Home Alone 2" cameo was a complete and utter mistake.  And that's putting it lightly. "We screened the film in Chicago, and when that moment came onscreen the audience went crazy," Columbus shared with the San Francisco Chronicle in April 2025. "Years later, it's become this curse. It's become this thing that I wish it was not there." He also denied Trump's claims that he was lying. "There's no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie," he explained, adding, "But we were desperate to get the Plaza Hotel." Oh well, desperate times.