Editing George R. R. Martin (section)

== Politics ==
Growing up, Martin avoided the [[United States draft|draft]] to the [[Vietnam War]] by being a [[conscientious objector]] and did two years of [[Alternative civilian service|alternative service]]. He generally opposes war and thought the Vietnam War was a "terrible mistake for America".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBuct2RZpqc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/tBuct2RZpqc| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=George R.R. Martin On Vietnam And The Realities Of War| date=March 13, 2012|publisher=George Stroumboulopoulos|access-date=October 24, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

While he did not endorse [[Barack Obama]] in 2008, Martin endorsed him for re-election in 2012 calling Obama the most intelligent president since [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/13/game-of-thrones-author-republicans_n_1773283.html|title=George R.R. Martin, "Game Of Thrones" Author, Slams Republicans For 'Voter Suppression'|date=August 13, 2012|access-date=September 11, 2012|work=Huffington Post|first=Andrew|last=Losowsky}}</ref> In [[2014 United States Senate election in New Mexico|2014]], Martin endorsed Democratic Senator [[Tom Udall]] of New Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ksfr.org/post/oct-6-first-news-gubernatorial-candidates-face-tonight-spanish-language-debate-listen|title=Oct. 6 First News: Gubernatorial Candidates To Face-Off Tonight in Spanish-Language Debate (Listen)|author=Tom Trowbridge|date=October 6, 2014 |access-date=October 30, 2014}}</ref>

In the midst of pressure to pull the 2014 feature film ''[[The Interview]]'' from theaters, the [[Jean Cocteau Cinema]] in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], which has been owned by Martin since 2013, decided to show the film. Theater manager Jon Bowman told the ''Santa Fe New Mexican'', "Martin feels strongly about the First Amendment and the idea of artists having the ability to speak their minds and not having to worry about being targets."<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/jean-cocteau-gets-green-light-to-screen-the-interview/article_9fffd0d7-3a0b-5336-a3b6-77dd09f6e592.html |work=Santa Fe New Mexican| title=Jean Cocteau Get Green Light to Screen the Interview|date=2014}}</ref>

Immediately following [[Bernie Sanders]]' defeat in the [[2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries|U.S. Democratic primary elections]], he supported Democratic nominee [[Hillary Clinton]] in the general [[2016 United States presidential election]], and criticized [[Donald Trump]] during the election and following her defeat, commenting that Trump would "become the worst president in American history".<ref name="clinton cnn">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/06/politics/george-rr-martin-election/index.html|title='Game of Thrones' author isn't writing. He's campaigning for Clinton|first=Eli |last=Watkins}}</ref><ref name="trump independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/game-of-thrones-george-rr-martin-donald-trump-victory-winter-is-coming-a7409071.html|title=The man who wrote Game of Thrones has given his take on Donald Trump's victory|date=November 10, 2016|newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref><ref name="trump hr">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/game-thrones-author-george-rr-martin-trump-winter-is-coming-946123|title=George R.R. Martin on Trump Win: "Winter Is Coming. I Told You So"|magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> In response to fans of Martin who compared Trump favorably to characters from ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', Martin doubled-down on his criticism of Trump by making the case to his fans that Trump shares many personality traits in common with [[Joffrey Baratheon|King Joffrey]], a near-universally hated character from the series, concluding that "Trump is a Grown-Up Joffrey."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-george-rr-martin-trump-joffrey-2017-5 |title='Game of Thrones' author George R.R. Martin: Trump is a grownup King Joffrey |work=Business Insider |last=Nededog |first=Jethro |date=May 24, 2017 |access-date=August 27, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/05/156089/donald-trump-grown-up-joffrey-george-rr-martin |title=George RR Martin Says Trump Is A Grown-Up King Joffrey |work=Refinery29.com |last=Luu |first=Christopher |date=May 24, 2017 |access-date=October 27, 2022}}</ref>

In May 2019, Martin endorsed [[Joe Biden]] for president in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Samuels|first1=Brett|title=Author George RR Martin backs Biden's candidacy|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/442280-george-rr-martin-backs-bidens-candidacy|newspaper=The Hill|date=May 6, 2019|access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref>