Susan Sarandon says she doesn’t support Trump — but calls Clinton ‘a really good Republican’

A vocal Bernie Sanders supporter, Susan Sarandon set off a Twitter firestorm last month when she sat down with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. Picking up the interview, online headlines blared that she had vowed to vote for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton if the senator from Vermont doesn’t secure the Democratic nomination.

The only problem? Sarandon’s comments were much more nuanced, her critique of Clinton not an automatic endorsement of Trump — and she made her stance clear while talking politics Tuesday on SiriusXM.

“I was just shocked,” the star told Sandyland’s Sandra Bernhard of the fallout. “I’ve seen online misleading, sensational headlines for articles that do not in any way reflect the headline, and that’s what happened to me. But what was surprising to me was how many people then got hysterical without reading the article or looking at the interview. Because if they had, they would have seen that the headline was completely misleading.”

Though some outlets edited their articles, “by that time, the damage was done, and people are going crazy repeating stuff that, if you read the article, you would see wasn’t in the article,” she said. “And that’s what’s kind of scary, because you understand why we’re in this atmosphere of hysteria.”

Appearing on Insight‘s StandUP! with Pete Dominick, Sarandon said she voted for Sanders in New York’s primary.

“The question, however, is if he doesn’t get the nomination, would you vote for Hillary?” Dominick asked.

“And my answer is I’m not dealing with that ’til I have to,” the actress and activist said. “So many people who never would vote Democrat — your Independents, your new voters, your Environmentalists, your Working Party — were never going to vote Democrat and Bernie has brought them in. But they’re not going to roll over that easily when she is the antithesis on where they stand on a lot of these issues.”

Asked about her thoughts on the state of the GOP, Sarandon did hit Clinton with a major Bern.

“I think If I was a Republican, I’d be very upset. I can’t believe this is the best they could do. This is all they could find? What’s happening? I mean, Hillary’s a really good Republican,” she said. “She’s not progressive.”

Hear both full interviews on demand. Sandyland airs on Sirius XM’s Radio Andy (Ch. 102), and StandUP! with Pete Dominick airs on Insight (Ch. 121).

For a free 30-day trial, check out siriusxm.com/freetrial.