Posted in: Comics, Ike Perlmutter, Marvel Comics | Tagged: armie hammer, donald trump, ike perlmutter, marvel, trump

Armie Hammer Calls Out Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter for Trump Support

Bleeding Cool has long-documented the strange adventures of Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter, from his elusive avoidance of the public eye (until recently) to his feud with Fox over the movie rights to Fantastic Four and X-Men that caused both properties to be downplayed in comics to his falling out with Kevin Feige over the direction of Marvel Studios to his feud with a rival billionaire over the rights to a tennis court that has resulted in alleged DNA theft. But one topic we've talked about more than any other is Perlmutter's friendship and support of President Donald Trump.

Ike and Laura Perlmutter have donated millions to Trump's campaigns, with Laura Perlmutter serving on Trump's inauguration committee and Ike Perlmutter serving as an unofficial advisor on the subject of veterans' healthcare. The Perlmutters were present at a televised VA bill signing in 2017, with Trump presenting Ike Perlmutter with the pen used to sign the bill.

After Perlmutter reportedly played a key role in ousting VA chief David Shulkin back in March, with Perlmutter and other members of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club holding up medical record reform in May, 11 members of Congress sent a letter calling out the Marvel Chairman along with Moskowitz for wielding undue influence at the government office with any official authority or government experience.

But even still, some seem surprised by the tweet recently sent by actor Armie Hammer:

And because Hammer brought this up in the context of Equinox, currently the subject of calls to boycott because of an association with Trump, some, like TMZ, are considering Hammer's tweet a call to boycott as well, even if Hammer doesn't say that explicitly.

But for comic book fans, at least if they've read a Bleeding Cool article over the past four years, Perlmutter's tight relationship with Trump is nothing new. And though, as Chairman and a massive Disney stockholder, Perlmutter does benefit from the financial success of not only Marvel movies but all Disney products, he has not had any actual control over the movie studio for years now… though in comics, he still reigns supreme.

But Trump associates aren't present just at Marvel, but throughout the entertainment industry. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who along with Perlmutter helped fund Trump's 2016 campaign, also helped finance the X-Men movies at Fox, Suicide Squad at DC, the Lego Batman Movie, and others. Another prominent donor to Trump's 2016 campaign was the McMahon family, of World Wrestling Entertainment, where Trump is a WWE Hall-of-Famer and participated in WrestleMania 23 in addition to hosting WrestleMania 4 and 5 at his Atlantic City Trump Plaza casino. Linda McMahon, former WWE CEO and wife of current Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, even took a position in Trump's cabinet as head of the Small Business Administration before leaving earlier this year to head a Trump Super PAC for the 2020 election.

So if you're gonna give up Marvel… what else will you be willing to give up as well? And is it possible to even be a geek culture fan without supporting Donald Trump financially through profits that eventually end up as donations?

We reached out to Perlmutter's reps for comment on this story, but haven't heard back as of press time.

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