Dick Van Dyke, who turns 99 next month, knows that aging is a gift. Not only because he’s had nearly a century of experiences, but also because he doesn’t think he’ll have to witness much of Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Because he’ll be dead.
The legendary Mary Poppins actor can be seen walking through a parking garage with wife Arlene Silver in a brief paparazzi video taken Tuesday and published by the Daily Mail. The person wielding the camera asks Van Dyke, entering his car, whether he thought the president-elect would make good on his promise to “make America great again,” and Van Dyke had a dark—and absolutely brutal—answer.
“Fortunately, I won’t be around to experience the four years,” he said. And it…didn’t sound like he meant he was going on a vacation.
The cameraperson also asked whether he thought the “future looked bright” under a Trump administration.
“I hope you’re right!” he said. Unspoken: Bless your heart and good luck.
Nothing like a presidential election to make a treasure of classic entertainment appear to relish the thought of his own death.
Last Monday, the day before Election Day, Van Dyke shared a YouTube video in which he lent his support to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, by way of reading a speech written for him by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. He originally read the piece in 1964, at an event where he shared the stage with Martin Luther King Jr.
“I used to sing and dance and fall down a lot, actually,” he said to introduce himself in the video. The speech’s thesis? “Hatred is not the norm.”
“To those who tell us the inequality of the human animal is a necessary evil, we must respond by simply saying that first, it is evil, but not necessary,” Van Dyke read.
He closed by reflecting on the 50 years that have passed since he first read the piece onstage, saying, “A lot’s happened. Not so much as Martin Luther dreamed of, but it’s a start. Thank you, God bless.”
