Actor John Cusack has said Barack Obama is “as bad or worse” than former President George W. Bush when it comes to civil liberties, drone strikes, freedom of the press and the National Security Agency.

The Guardian reports:

“Obama has extended and hardened the cement on a lot of Bush’s post-9/11 Terror Inc policies, so he’s very similar to Bush in every way that way,” he told the Daily Beast.

“He hasn’t started as many wars, but he’s extended the ones we had, and I don’t even think Dick Cheney or Richard Nixon would say the president has the right to unilaterally decide whom he can kill around the world.” …

“One is forced to ask the question: is the president just another Ivy League asshole shredding civil liberties and due process and sending people to die in some shithole for purely political reasons?” he wrote.

Cusack sits on the board of the nonprofit Freedom of the Press Foundation. One of his fellow board members is the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

In these critical times, your support is crucial...

As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.

Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality behind the headlines — without compromise.

"Truthdig’s a lifeline for anyone who values democracy especially during these challenging times.”
— Fernando Villamare, Los Angeles, CA

Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG