Director Adam McKay says he's leaving Democratic Party

Adam McKay (Step Brothers), who has pivoted to a more political career in the last ten years, is going scorched earth on the Democratic Party after Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump in the presidential election, and the Republicans’ projected wins of the Senate and House of Representatives. “It is time to abandon the Dem Party,” the filmmaker wrote on Twitter/X. “I’m registering Green Party or Working Families. But am open to ideas.”

In the lead-up to the election, McKay has been a prominent pro-Palestine voice in Hollywood. He has also long been an advocate for climate policy (his most recent film, Don’t Look Up, is an explicit climate change metaphor). “I really feel like all the change that’s going to lead to real action on climate—restoring institutions like our news, education, healthcare—the only road to it is a proper leftwing democratic socialist [leader]…without it, I really don’t see any road to change,” he said last month in an interview with CarbonBrief. Elsewhere, he added, “Until people really get bold and start ignoring these two parties, the change won’t really be substantive.”

McKay’s posts on Twitter/X were consistent with these remarks, though his tone in the immediate wake of the election was a lot angrier. “Who would have guessed lying about Biden’s cognitive health for 2 yrs, refusing to do an open convention for a new nominee, never mentioning public healthcare & embracing fracking, the Cheneys & a yr long slaughter of children in Gaza wouldn’t be a winning strategy?” he wrote. “Anyone with half a brain? But I thought liberals’ whole thing is being smart? It’s not? They actually just blindly cheer the parade of rickety optics wrapped up in New York Times fonts that is the modern Dem Party?” He concluded, “Well at least it’s time for the dusty hacks & careerists to spread their feathers wide post election and blame Russia and third party candidates. That should fix things.”