Art Garfunkel has famously spent years taking long-distance walks across the United States, Japan, and Europe. Now, at 84, the Simon & Garfunkel singer says he’s considering setting off from his home country and not looking back.
Speaking in a new interview with The Guardian, Garfunkel expressed dismay over the current direction of the United States under President Donald Trump and admitted that he has thought seriously about living somewhere else. “I’m not aboard, and I’m thinking of leaving the country, frankly,” he said.
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Garfunkel’s worries about where we’re headed as a people and country extend beyond Trump himself. The singer spoke about climate change, hunger, and the United States’ role abroad and its increasingly aggressive nature, specifically pointing to the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela. He described the situation as “shocking.”
“It’s real that the planet is getting warmer, that the water’s rising, that so many people are starving,” Garfunkel noted. “When Donald Trump took over Venezuela, are those the new rules? Just take over a country and run it? It’s shocking, and you think: how on earth are we gonna change the presidency?”
His comments come eight months after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and brought him to the United States to face federal charges. Washington has since taken a more direct role in Venezuela, particularly its oil industry, while international-law experts continue to question the legality of the military operation.
Still, Garfunkel isn’t writing off home entirely. Despite his frustration, he noted the temporary nature of any administration can be a reason for cautious optimism. “Trump won’t last forever. So we’ve got to hope,” he said.
The political comments were only a small part of a broader interview in which Garfunkel reflected on his life, his return to performing regularly, and his relationship with longtime musical partner Paul Simon. The two famously stopped speaking after their last tour together in 2010, but reconciled over an emotional dinner in 2025. Garfunkel said they haven’t seen each other in roughly a year and remained noncommittal about another Simon & Garfunkel reunion.
Of course, Garfunkel’s music with Paul Simon also became inseparable from film history through The Graduate, which Consequence listed as number two of its 100 Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time.
