White House slams 'sick' Mark Hamill for post depicting Trump in grave

WASHINGTON — The White House is at war with Luke Skywalker.

Actor Mark Hamill, known best for playing Skywalker in the "Star Wars" franchise, drew the condemnation of the White House for a post he made on social media about President Donald Trump that referenced the president's future death.

Hamill's May 6 post on Bluesky ‒ since deleted following the pushback ‒ reads "If Only," attached to a picture (seemingly AI-generated) of Trump lying in a grave in front of a tombstone that says, "Donald Trump, 1946 - 2024."

"If Only - He should live long enough to witness his inevitable devastating loss in the midterms, be held accountable for his unprecedented corruption, impeached, convicted & humiliated for his countless crimes," Hamill wrote in the now-deleted post. "Long enough to realize he'll be disgraced in the history books, forevermore. #don_TheCON."

The White House slammed Hamill over the post, pointing to the multiple assassination threats Trump has faced including the April 24 shooting at the White House correspondents dinner. Prosecutors have charged a 31-year-old gunman who they say tried to burst his way into the dinner with attempting to assassinate Trump and weapons crimes.

"Mark Hamill is one sick individual," the White House wrote on X. "These Radical Left lunatics just can’t help themselves. This kind of rhetoric is exactly what has inspired three assassination attempts in two years against our President."

Amid the uproar, Hamill on May 8 deleted the post and issued a new statement on Bluesky that says, "Accurate Edit for Clarity: 'He should live long enough to… be held accountable for his… crimes.' Actually, I was wishing him the opposite of dead, but apologize if you found the image inappropriate." He attached a photo of Trump with his hair disheveled from the wind.

Hamill, 74, an outspoken supporter of Democrats, met with former President Joe Biden at the White House in 2024, a trip that included stopping by the briefing room to address reporters. Hamill has said he nearly moved from the United States following Trump's 2024 election victory.

This week, Hamill appeared in a pair of videos with former President Barack Obama to promote the June opening of the Obama Presidential Center.

"Barack Hussein Obama just appeared in a video with this deranged lunatic three days ago," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Now this same person is calling for President Trump to die. Why won’t Obama and Democrats condemn this disgusting call to violence?"

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.