Tom Hanks says he would turn down a White House invitation from Trump because of attacks on free press

Hanks won't be visiting the White House any time soon

Tom Hanks has said he wouldn’t attend if his latest movie The Post was issued a screening invitation at the White House by Donald Trump.

Hanks’ new Steven Spielberg-directed film sees him portray Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, who received threats from then-President Richard Nixon when he published a series of stories about the Pentagon Papers in 1971.

Asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether he would take the movie to the White House if invited to, Hanks said no and spoke out against Trump’s repeated attacks on the free press.

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“I don’t think I would,” Hanks said, adding: “I didn’t think things were going to be this way last November. I would not have been able to imagine that we would be living in a country where neo-Nazis are doing torchlight parades in Charlottesville and jokes about Pocahontas are being made in front of the Navajo code talkers. And individually we have to decide when we take to the ramparts.”

Donald Trump before departing the White House on Marine One

Hanks went on to speak out against Trump’s attacks on the First Amendment, saying: “This is the moment where, in some ways, our personal choices are going to have to reflect our opinions. We have to start voting, actually, before the [next] election. So, I would probably vote not to go [to the White House].”

Back in March, Hanks supported the press by buying a coffee machine for journalists attending Trump and Sean Spicer’s press conferences.

Meanwhile, Michael Moore has called on Tom Hanks to run for President in 2020.

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