Elizabeth Banks says she can’t ‘understand’ why a majority of White women backed Donald Trump in 2024.
Donald Trump won the 2024 election and secured a return to the White House, defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden exited the race.
A Harris victory would have been historic: the former prosecutor previously served as San Francisco District Attorney and California Attorney General, and she would have become the first woman to serve as U.S. president. During her time as vice president, she already made history as the first woman, the first Black American, and the first Asian American to hold the role.
But with exit polling showing 53% of White women voters supported Trump, Banks said she’s struggling to make sense of it.
“Effie is the model, guys. I don’t understand the 53% of White ladies that didn’t vote for Kamala. What were you thinking?” Banks said in a Bustle podcast, as reported by Variety.
Banks played Effie Trinket across all four movies in the original The Hunger Games run: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1, and Mockingjay – Part 2.
In the series, Effie starts out as a glossy spokesperson for the system that stages the brutal Games, but gradually changes as she recognizes the cost of the regime’s cruelty and ultimately aligns with efforts to dismantle it.
Now, Banks is encouraging women to channel that transformation—arguing that people should become “revolutionaries” in opposition to what she has labeled a “fascist regime.”
“Effie, for me, is one of the characters that has the greatest arc that I’ve ever played because, obviously, she props up this fascist regime that she benefits from,” Banks said.
“It’s not until she really comes to care for and see how unfair it is when they want to pull Katniss and Peeta into the games again.”
Banks publicly backed Harris during the campaign and also took part in a Las Vegas stop for Harris’ Reproductive Freedom Bus, highlighting abortion access as a key issue.
“19 DAYS until we elect @kamalaharris President of the United States! I joined my friends at @reproforallnv yesterday and jumped on Kamala’s Reproductive Freedom Bus in Las Vegas,” Banks posted on Instagram at the time.
“Our rights, our freedom, and our access to health care are literally at stake. Please please please check your registration status and make a plan for Election Day. 19 days! Let’s go!” she added.
Meanwhile, Harris has said she is currently considering a 2028 presidential run.
She addressed the possibility while speaking with the National Action Network (NAN) on Friday (April 10) in New York City.
“I might, I might. I’m thinking about it,” she confirmed, and added: “I served for four years being a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States … I know what the job is and I know what it requires.”
She said: “I’ve been traveling the country the last year, spending a lot of time in the south and many other places, and the one thing I’m really clear about is … the status quo is not working and hasn’t been working for a lot of people for a long time.”
Harris continued: “It’s got to be about the American people and that’s how I think of it. I am thinking about it in the context of … who and where and how can the best job be done for the American people. I’ll keep you posted.”