SAG-AFTRA permanently bans Donald Trump from readmission after his exit

Donald Trump has been permanently banned from readmission to SAG-AFTRA, in a move which the union hails as "more than a symbolic step."

The former United States President recently resigned from "Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists," an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists and radio personalities. He resigned after he found out about the union's plan to expel him over the Capitol riots. The union accepted the resignation immediately, and recently ensured that the businessman won't be able to rejoin in the future.

The resolution to permanently ban him from readmission was passed via a Zoom videoconference on Saturday. SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris later issued a statement about the resolution, criticising Trump for inciting the deadly riots in Washington D.C. on January 6, reports People magazine.

"Preventing Donald Trump from ever rejoining SAG-AFTRA is more than a symbolic step. It is a resounding statement that threatening or inciting harm against fellow members will not be tolerated. An attack against one is an attack against all," the statement read.

The official press release also spoke about Trump's role in the riots, noting that he has repeatedly attacked journalists as well. It read: "The National Board hereby finds that the well-documented actions by Donald J. Trump to undermine the peaceful transition of power in the United States, and to undermine the delivery of truthful information to the public by attacking journalists is anathema to the values embodied by SAG-AFTRA and to the members of SAG-AFTRA."

"The National Board hereby finds that any future re-admission to membership of Donald J. Trump would not be in the best interests of the union; The National Board hereby directs that any future application for admission to membership in SAG-AFTRA by Donald J. Trump shall be denied," it further read.

The board had first moved against Trump in a meeting held after the riots in January. It had found "probable cause" that the 74-year-old violated the organisation's constitution and should be removed from the union. However, Trump himself decided to quit and wrote a strong-worded resignation letter to the organisation's president.

"I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares! While I'm not familiar with your work, I'm very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and television shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, and of course, one of the most successful shows in television history, The Apprentice – to name just a few!" he wrote in his letter to Carteris.

Trump also insulted a number of news channels including MSNBC and CNN in the letter. He concluded it by saying: "You have done nothing for me." In response, the union simply told him, "Thank you."