For years, left-wing pundits and Hollywood stars have threatened to flee the United States if a Republican president took office, yet those threats mainly were bluster until recently. High-profile liberal celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell have relocated abroad, and now comedian Jimmy Kimmel has joined this exodus more symbolically by obtaining Italian citizenship. While I’m all for these insufferable leftists leaving the country, their gestures aren’t nearly the bold statements they’re made out to be.
Both DeGeneres and O’Donnell were has-beens by the time they packed up and left the country. Ellen’s decade-long reign with "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" came to an abrupt slowdown after workplace misconduct allegations and a steady ratings decline tarnished her wholesome image. Meanwhile, O’Donnell's last really big hit movie was "A League of Their Own," which came out in 1992. Both remain famous names but are now more relics of past liberal celebrity than current cultural heavyweights. If anything, leaving the country to protest Donald Trump gave them a short-term boost of relevance.
Kimmel made his announcement on Sarah Silverman's podcast that he secured Italian citizenship, and it came with the usual political grandstanding. He whined that the conditions under Trump's presidency were "so much worse" than anticipated, even implying it might be worse than Trump himself would want.
But don’t let his grandstanding fool you. This half-measure echoes the broader pattern among Hollywood liberals, who often threaten to leave but rarely take the final step.
The irony here is thick and unmistakable. Kimmel, who has made a career out of blasting President Trump’s immigration policies and painting the administration as hostile toward legal non-citizen residents, inadvertently undermines his narrative by quietly acquiring Italian citizenship while remaining in this country. This entire situation is likely more political theater than a genuine principled stance against Trump’s America.
But there may be something else going on entirely. Kimmel’s actions may be financially driven, not politically motivated.
If Kimmel has indeed renounced his U.S. citizenship and established residency in Italy, he could be escaping the burdensome reach of the American tax system, which taxes citizens on their worldwide income regardless of where they live. Italy, on the other hand, offers a tax incentive program designed to attract wealthy foreigners: a flat tax regime with a fixed annual payment on foreign-sourced income. This means Kimmel could be paying a predictable, capped tax bill rather than the unpredictable and often much higher U.S. rates.
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As Global Citizen Solutions explains, “Italy’s flat tax regime is a special program to attract high-net-worth individuals who move their tax residency to Italy. Under this regime, eligible individuals can pay a fixed annual tax of €200,000 on all foreign-sourced income, regardless of the amount. It offers a simplified and predictable tax structure and exemptions from wealth, inheritance, and foreign asset reporting.”
What remains unclear is whether Kimmel has truly completed the formal renunciation of his U.S. citizenship and fully established residency in Italy. But if he has, then this move looks less like a principled fight and more like a smokescreen to conceal a savvy financial move.
More often than not, leftists' threats to leave the country proved empty: mere political bluster to rile up their base; even now, only a select few celebrities have made good on their promises. At the same time, the vast majority remain firmly planted on American soil, content to rail against the very country that has made them rich. Kimmel’s move to acquire Italian citizenship fits squarely into this pattern: a half-hearted gesture, more symbolic than substantive, that lets him posture without truly leaving.
This ongoing cycle of threats without follow-through exposes the shallow nature of leftist outrage. For years, they’ve used “I’ll leave the country” as a political cudgel, only to cling tightly when it comes time to act. Kimmel’s case is just the latest reminder that for many on the left, America is a convenient target to bash until it’s time to pay the price and walk away.
Leftists' loud proclamations of protest ring hollow when we weigh them against their unwillingness to make real sacrifices. In the end, these repeated empty threats reveal a profound reluctance to abandon the very nation they claim to despise, proving that left-wing grievances are often little more than performative posturing rather than genuine convictions.
