Jon Voight backs 'visionary' Donald Trump for president

Hollywood actor Jon Voight has hailed Donald Trump as a "visionary" as he voiced support for the billionaire's bid to become the next US president.

The Oscar-winner said Mr Trump was a "wonderful character" and he was not aware his daughter, Angelina Jolie Pitt, had raised concerns about the Republican candidate's remarks about Muslims earlier this year.

Voight, 77, told the Press Association: "(Mr Trump's) outside the system and he's an interesting character, he's a real character, but he's a wonderful character.

"Look at what he's produced in terms of the extraordinary buildings that he has helped design, putting together these teams of people to do this extraordinary stuff.

"He's a visionary. The children that he's raised give you an example of his moral character and his loving kindness. He's a loving man.

"He's a great guy and he's just the perfect guy to come from outside the system to do a lot of the work that needs to be done."

Speaking at the premiere of Ben Hur in Los Angeles, Voight said he had not "heard anything from Angie" after he was asked about his daughter's criticism of Mr Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US.

The actress told an audience in London in May: "To me, America is built on people from around the world coming together for freedoms, especially freedom of religion. So it's hard to hear this is coming from someone who is pressing to be an American president."

Voight said: "I haven't heard anything from Angie so I don't know what she has said but the concerns that we have now in terms of security, we have to have those concerns. Unfortunately we have to have them at this time.

"I think people all over the world are coming to an understanding of that. We can't be naive. We're talking about human life here."

Voight, who won a Best Actor Oscar in 1979 for Coming Home, first endorsed Mr Trump in March, calling the entrepreneur "funny, playful" and "honest".

Advertisement