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Michael Rapaport is detailing how his perspective on President Donald Trump changed in the wake of a global crisis.
During an episode of Jamie Kennedy’s podcast, “Hate To Break It To Ya,” the 56-year-old comedian opened up about how his perspective on Trump has evolved over time, including what prompted him to move away from derogatory name-calling and adopt a more respectful tone.
“You were mad at Trump. Now you’re cool with Trump?” Kennedy asked.
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“Yeah,” Rapaport responded. “But I have problems, and he’s far from not being … infuriating.”
Rapaport said that after Hamas attacked Israel and abducted hundreds of hostages, his views began to shift.
“After Oct. 7, I realized the magnitude and scope of the hostage situation, and it was between cadaver Joe Biden and Trump and Kamala … I knew that the only way that those hostages who were being held for weeks and then months and then a year, I knew that the only chance would be [Trump].”
“Why I don’t insult him now, and I could insult him and I could be derogatory towards him, is because for me, simply getting the hostages home was enough for me to not … be disrespectful.”
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Rapaport, who said he’s been to Israel nine times in the past two and a half years, said his advocacy has opened his eyes.
“The exposure and the enlightenment and the conversations I had with the hostage families, the reality that I saw, it’s worth it for me to not be disrespectful to him because I fought, begged, prayed, pleaded to get the hostages home by any means necessary.”
He said people have reached out to him, upset that he stopped disparaging Trump, but he invited those people to “carry the torch,” because he was no longer interested in slamming the president.
“For me, it was enough to get the hostages home and protect Israel’s right to exist. Those two things were enough for me. Some people vote on different things, some people want different things, a lot of times you don’t get them. But for me, it was enough for me to do that, and it was important enough for me to do that. I respect and know what I’ve seen, who I’ve spoken to, the insight that I’ve had to not be disparaging to him simply for that.”
“I could still be critical and still be frustrated and have all the things, but … it was important enough for me to no longer carry on like that,” he added.
Rapaport also told Kennedy that years ago, when he first began publicly insulting Trump, “I wasn’t as informed, plugged in, educated as I am about politics, world politics … I think it’s great to admit when you were wrong, uninformed, misinformed and spoke out of turn.”
In May, Rapaport said he plans on running against Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is known for his democratic socialist policies, with a “New York City street fight mentality” come 2029.
“I never thought that I would even consider running for mayor of New York City, and I will do it with the best intentions. And I won’t do it the way any other political person has ever done it,” Rapaport told Chris Cuomo during an appearance on NewsNation.
“The only way to beat this guy is to make it and take it with New York City street fight mentality.”
“There’s no way to out-nice him. There’s no way out-slick him. I think that he’s the greatest bull-crapper in the history of politicians … and that’s saying a lot,” he continued.
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“But New York City needs to do something. We need to plan right now because 2029 is around the corner, and, yes, I’m running for mayor of New York City. And I will only drop out until I feel like there’s somebody who’s more qualified that could actually beat Zohran the moron.”
“My bark is a lot louder than my bite,” he added. “There’s no way to out-finesse this guy, out-smile this guy. It has to be a dogfight. It has to be ugly, and that’s what I will do in my campaign.”
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