Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Via USA Today:

An Oregon minister’s efforts to urge a movie theater chain to cease playing a promotional video for the U.S. Department of War before film showings is drawing attention.

The Rev. Chuck Currie, a minister in the United Church of Christ in Portland, complained in a letter to Regal Theaters that he and his family had gone to see Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” Sunday evening when the 90-second ad touting the U.S. Department of War played before the pre-film trailers.

“The audience was stunned,” he told USA TODAY, calling the video “a propaganda piece promoting Trump and the MAGA agenda.”

Full story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/06/17/minister-theater-chain-war-department-video/90598050007/

Release Octavio Daniel Cabrera Valdez!

Via Snopes.com:

Rumors circulated online in June 2026 that the movie theater chain Regal Cinemas showed what critics called a “propaganda video” for the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump before a movie screening. 

The rumor gained traction when the Rev. Chuck Currie, a minister in Portland, Oregon, posted an open letter to the theater chain about the ad on his social media channels on June 15.

Snopes confirmed with Currie via email the details of his viewing, which he said occurred at Regal’s Lloyd Center location in Portland on June 14, during the 6:40 p.m. showing of Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day.” 

Local media also reported on Currie’s letter, helping to spread the claim online. However, the first instance of someone discussing the ad online was a post on the Regal Unlimited subreddit that featured a photograph of the alleged ad playing on a cinema screen and was posted the day before Currie wrote his letter. 

Full story: https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/06/17/regal-cinemas-propaganda-video/

‘Democracies do not do this’: Portland minister calls on local movie theater to remove Department of War ad

Via KOIN 6 CBS NEWS: In a letter sent to Regal Cinemas and posted on social media, Rev. Currie said while it is normal to see videos promoting careers in the military, this was something else.

“This was an advertisement promoting the political views of Donald Trump,” he said. “It was not promoting our military.”

Full story: https://www.koin.com/news/portland/democracies-do-not-do-this-portland-minister-calls-on-local-movie-theater-to-remove-department-of-war-ad/

‘We will hunt you down,’ Trump says in pre-movie ad that stunned Portland theatergoers

Via The Oregonian:

A liberal Portland activist who says his leisurely outing to the movies Sunday took an Orwellian turn when a new “Department of War” video promoting President Donald Trump’s hyper-macho foreign policy interrupted the trailers is fighting back against what he called the government’s “propaganda” — and drawing support on social media.

The Rev. Chuck Currie shared his experience on Facebook, Instagram and Threads after going to Portland’s Regal Lloyd Center to watch Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster “Disclosure Day.” That’s when a 90-second advertisement for Trump’s “Department of War” flashed onto the movie screen, prompting loud boos from the Portland audience, Currie said.

Full story: https://www.oregonlive.com/nation/2026/06/we-will-hunt-you-down-trump-says-in-movie-trailer-that-stunned-portland-theatergoers.html?gift=6d0365f5-32e1-435d-8bdc-a038bf9b2cf0 (link in bio)

Josh Hokit’s slur against Michelle Obama was reprehensible and was rooted in racism, misogyny, and homophobia. The same hatreds that drive Donald Trump. Trump smirked at Hokit’s slur and, today, The White House has refused to condemn Hokit. As for Michelle Obama, she is a great American and was a great First Lady for ALL Americans, red and blue. History will remember her name and contributions, just as history will catalog Trump’s failed stewardship of the presidency.

Art: “The Obamas: Springing Forth,” by artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby.

Dear Regal:

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I am writing to Regal Theatres to demand that you immediately stop showing the war.gov promotional spot that appears before movies.

The video is a propaganda video. Nothing more, nothing less. While at Portland’s Regal Lloyd Center last night to watch Disclosure Day, our family was surprised that before the movie, we were forced to watch an advertisement touting the leadership of Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and the so-called Department of War.

It was like we were at a movie theater in Russia or North Korea. Democracies do not do this. The audience loudly booed.

We routinely see videos at Regal promoting careers in the military. This was not that.

This was an advertisement promoting the political views of Donald Trump. It was not promoting our military. It was not promoting America’s greatest strength: our diversity. This was a MAGA campaign commercial highlighting a fake cabinet agency, the Department of War, which is actually called the Defense Department, and the MAGA America First platform.

Regal’s decision to show this video can only be construed as an endorsement of Donald Trump, his failed war in Iran, and the white Christian nationalism advocated by Secretary Hegseth.

Again, I must demand that Regal stop showing this video immediately. Blessed are the peacemakers.

I can be reached at 503-208-6521 or [email protected].

In Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

If you cut food assistance for children, dehumanize immigrants as ‘vermin,’ put the financial interests of polluters over Creation, increase military spending while slashing education, or raise taxes on people experiencing poverty welcome while providing tax cuts - for the super-rich, you have forsaken the teachings of jesus, who told us that whatever we do to the least of these, we do to him.

At Regal in Portland to watch Disclosure Day and were just treated to a Donald Trump / Pete Hegseth propaganda video promoting the website http://war.gov.

The crowd here at Lloyd Center loudly booed.

I love Portland. 🌹

But why on Earth did we just have to watch a tax payer paid for propaganda video?

I’m told that today is Obama Appreciation Day! In President Barack Obama, the United States had a person of character in The White House. After George W. Bush crashed the economy, Barack Obama is the one who brought it back. He extended health care to tens of millions of Americans who didn’t have it before through the Affordable Care Act. He raised wages, worked to address the reality of human-caused climate change, and advanced civil rights. Unlike the current president, Barack Obama is respected and admired at home and abroad. With good cause. Thank you, President Obama, for what you did as president, and what you are doing today.