Jane Fonda goes door-to-door for Kamala – to the fury of veterans

Jane Fonda went door-to-door in Michigan to campaign for Kamala Harris ahead of the presidential election – leaving a bad taste in the mouths of some Americans who haven’t forgiven the actress for a 1972 political stunt in Vietnam.

The 86-year-old activist was featured in a video posted by Kamala for Michigan hugging a resident of Ann Arbor and asking for the woman’s support.

‘I’ve never done it for a president, but this is most important. We have to, have to, have to get [Harris and Walz] elected,’ Fonda, dressed in a pinstriped gray suit, told the woman. 

The pair shared an embrace as the resident held back tears before thanking the Fonda for the visit.

Despite the Michigander’s warmth, not all were happy to see Fonda’s activism – with many still taking offense to her controversial stance on the Vietnam War in the 1970s, where she actively called for the war’s end and even traveled to the country. 

Fonda got the nickname ‘Hanoi Jane’ after she was pictured sitting on an antiaircraft gun during a 1972 trip to North Vietnam, an image that still haunts her to this day and one she spoke about in her 2005 memoir, My Life So Far. 

The actress was invited to the war-torn country to tour its dike system, which was rumored to have been bombed by US forces – something the US denies. 

While there for two weeks, Fonda declared America had bombed Vietnamese farmland that was far from war zones and appeared on a radio show pleading with US pilots to stop the bombings. 

Following her return home, the actress was slammed by the State Department, for her decision to speak out in support of Vietnam. Congress also held a hearing, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars called for her to be prosecuted as a traitor, according to the Washington Post. 

Fonda continued to speak out into 1973. 

She has continuously apologized for the Hanoi photo, including giving a detailed explanation in her 2005 memoir, where she admitted she didn’t realize the ‘implication of what has just happened’ until it was too late. 

‘Oh, my God. It’s going to look like I was trying to shoot down US planes!’ she remembered thinking, recalling that she begged the photos not to be published. 

‘It is possible that the Vietnamese had it all planned. I will never know. If they did, can I really blame them? The buck stops here. If I was used, I allowed it to happen. It was my mistake, and I have paid and continue to pay a heavy price for it,’ she wrote. 

Despite her continued pleas for forgiveness, not every American has forgotten her actions. Many expressed outrage after seeing the campaign clip. 

‘Nothing like having the most famous traitor in American history campaign for you,’ a man named Andy wrote on X.

‘I would have told Hanoi Jane to get off my front doorstep and off my property,’ another added.  

A third wrote: ‘Always a good idea to have Hanoi Jane go door to door through the heartland. I’m guessing the group is steering clear of the houses with POW/MIA flags or signs in the yard.’ 

‘Good lord is there ever a time for some Nam Vet to have a flashback,’ yet another wrote.  

Another commenter criticized Fonda for picking a heavily Democratic city to campaign in, writing: ‘Knocking doors in the most liberal city in Michigan in a D +30 district seems like a tremendous waste of time. I would expect nothing less of Hanoi Jane.’  

However, some enjoyed seeing the celebrity go door-to-door. 

One wrote: ‘All right for door knocking at 86 years old, wearing a suit, and looking fantastic!’ 

Another said: ‘Omg I love this so much.’  

Fonda joined the Harris campaign to talk about climate change – another topic she has advocated for in the past. 

She spoke at a Climate Voters for Harris campaign event on Tuesday in Ann Arbor.