By Katie McLaughlin, CNN
March 3, 2011 2:34 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Matt Damon: President Obama "misinterpreted his mandate"
- The actor says he's passionate about politics but has no political aspirations
- Damon: "I feel like the work I do now allows me to change things"
- Damon is involved in the nonpartisan Water.org movement
(CNN) -- When CNN's Piers Morgan asked actor Matt Damon if he was happy with the way President Barack Obama has been running the country and if Damon was "a fan" of the president, Damon answered "no."
Damon and the cast of "The Adjustment Bureau" -- Emily Blunt, John Slattery and Anthony Mackie -- are Thursday evening's guests on "Piers Morgan Tonight." During the course of their conversation, Damon and Morgan covered Hollywood, politics, fatherhood and much more."He (Obama) misinterpreted his mandate," said Damon. "He's doubled down on a lot of things."
"In his State of the Union he didn't even say the word 'poverty,' " said Damon. "You've got millions of people languishing in it." Damon, who backed the Obama campaign in 2008, said he appreciates that the president is a "deep thinker." The actor called Obama brilliant, but said he "definitely wanted more."
When questioned about what he'd do about Afghanistan, Damon said, "I don't think the mission there has been very well articulated. And I think it would help to kind of reframe the way we're thinking about being there and why we're there."
Damon also said there has not been a meaningful reform of Wall Street. He said he believes that is "dangerous" and "shameful" and that the financial crisis is "just going to happen again," because "they don't make anything. They don't build anything."
Morgan asked about Damon's well-known disapproval of Sarah Palin and the fact that he has spoken out against her since she was announced as John McCain's running mate in 2008. Damon said he still feels it was reckless to have someone who was "a complete mystery to everybody" be "literally a heartbeat away from the presidency." Damon also said he disagrees with Palin politically. "She's not somebody who I would vote for."
Damon said, though, that while he is passionate about politics, he has no political aspirations.
"I feel like the work I do now allows me to change things," he said. Damon said he puts most of his free time into the nonpartisan Water.org movement, which is dedicated to getting clean water to people.
While he said he is "interested in everyone's opinion" and "interested in people who don't agree with me," when talking politics, that's not his main interest. "I love my job. I love making movies."
"The Adjustment Bureau" is based on the premise that people have no control over destiny. Forces manipulate their every decision and there is no free will. In the film, the team known as the Adjustment Bureau is charged with keeping people on their predetermined paths.
Matt Damon and Emily Blunt's characters fall in love, even though they are not predestined for one another, and opt to fight the Adjustment Bureau.
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