The first time that Donald Trump ran for president, plenty of people talked about leaving the United States if he won. Some were at least halfway joking; some were engaging in hyperbolic tough talk – jokes soured and bluffs unexpectedly called by Trump’s chilling 2016 victory. But even those with the means to hastily relocate mostly stayed put as the shock gradually wore off and plenty of high-profile celebrities lent their voices to protesting against the administration’s various policies (or, doing the celebrity version: making fun of administration oddballs through shaky impressions on the Saturday Night Live cold open). The message was clear: we aren’t actually going anywhere; we’re staying and fighting (or just trying to get through the day). Maybe some people still thought about leaving the country – I know a few who sincerely looked into Canada and Italy based on those countries’ particular rules. But after a global pandemic hit in 2020, there were other concerns involved with shifting residency anyway. Besides, later that year Trump himself was shown the door.
But that door was left cracked open, and with the second coming of Trump, there’s been a change. Courtney Love is seeking UK citizenship. Married couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have already moved to the UK and recently put their final remaining US property up for sale, indicating the move’s permanence. Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and their two children moved to London last summer – the same city where America Ferrera has been seen looking at schools, portending a possible move for the firmly outspoken actor. Rosie O’Donnell explicitly cited concern for her nonbinary child as her reason for heading to Ireland and seeking citizenship there. (Texas native Eva Longoria now resides in Spain and Mexico, though she insisted last autumn that the relocation was not political.)
