President Trump took time out from overseeing Friday’s plane grounding to meet with actor Jon Voight over film production incentives in the U.S.
Mr. Voight was at the White House with his team to push for the incentives during the remaining days of the current Congress.
Variety reports that Mr. Voight, 87, spoke to the president about the Hollywood tax incentive bill, which would provide a 20% to 30% rebate on domestic labor costs for film and TV productions.
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Mr. Voight’s discussion with Mr. Trump comes as numerous film teams have left Los Angeles due to rising production costs.
The actor, who starred in “Midnight Cowboy” and “Runaway Train,” was named as Mr. Trump’s special ambassador to Hollywood alongside actor Mel Gibson in January 2025. The president’s intention for the appointment was to make Hollywood “stronger than ever before.”
Mr. Voight has supported Mr. Trump since the latter’s first election cycle in 2016.
One of Mr. Voight’s companions at the meeting, filmmaker Steven Paul, told Variety that the actor, who won an Oscar in 1978 for “Coming Home,” was crying by the end of his speech to the president.
“It was an Academy Award-winning speech,” Mr. Paul said.
Mr. Trump sent out a Truth Social post addressing the meeting while Mr. Voight was still in the room.
“Meetings are being set up, routinely, with the Leaders of both Parties in order to, GET THIS DONE!” Mr. Trump wrote. “It is a very Bipartisan undertaking, especially in that so much of the money being lost to other countries is coming out of the Blue States. Hopefully Republicans and Democrats will get together and finalize this already very actively negotiated Legislation.”
In response, Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat routinely at odds with the president, wrote, “President Trump and I agree: it’s time for Congress to pass a federal film incentive.”
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