Sean Penn Says Trump Might ‘Try To Destroy The World’ Before Leaving Office

Emily BaxterMay 9, 2025, 12:58 amHomepage Slider, News >

Sean Penn fears the worst regarding President Donald Trump’s legacy on America.

The Mystic River star appeared on The Jim Acosta Show to discuss the current political climate and promote the movie Words of War.

Penn has made his political views and activism no secret. He and his charity CORE provided aid to Ukrainian refugees, and he has since continued to maintain close relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This is not the first time Penn has criticized Trump. Back in 2021, he slammed the President’s response to COVID-19, comparing it to a “machine gun” against vulnerable communities.

Penn, host Jim Acosta and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) discussed El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and the deportation of American citizens to the supermax prison in El Salvador.

“Donald Trump, despite his fantasies, is not gonna be in office forever,” Acosta said. “He’s not Vladimir Putin. He’s not gonna stick around for 25 years. And Bukele needs to be told there’s gonna be other administrations that are gonna come in here that are not gonna look too kindly on this, what you’re doing down there.”

Swalwell agreed, saying, “We’re taking inventory of who’s trying to do, you know, these on-off anti-democratic deals with Donald Trump. And you know, there’s going to be a day of reckoning and accountability because the president’s poll numbers are under 40% right now. I mean, he’s in a free fall as far as his poll numbers. So yes, he should think twice about what the long-term future of El Salvador is if Donald Trump is no longer in power.”

Penn said Americans need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“Before Bukele gets to that point where he’s dealing with another leader, we should consider worst-case scenarios,” he said. “I do think it’s a reasonable theory that Donald Trump is not unlike the spouse of someone who leaves him, perhaps for another, who then murders their former partner, because if they can’t have her, nobody can. I think Donald Trump, in his solipsism, may have that relationship with the world, and that this destruction is in part a power play.”

“You think he’ll try to stay on?” Swalwell asked in response to Penn.

“I think he might try to destroy the world before he ages out of life,” Penn replied.