In a new ad, Ben Stein reprises his most famous role
Ben Stein is an economist and actor best known for his role as a teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Ben reprises that role for an ad for the National Retail Federation, urging the United States not to enter a trade war with China. Outside of acting, Stein has been noted for his economic and political views. He was a speechwriter during the Nixon administration, and has stayed active in conservative politics ever since. Chris Ingram spoke to Stein over the phone on Wednesday about the ad, the concern of a trade war, and President Trump in general.
“That part that I did in Ferris was all ad-libbed by me. None of it was in the script.” Stein goes on to joke that he and director John Hughes “were the only Republicans in Hollywood.” Hughes asked Stein to ad-lib the line.
As a longtime Republican and conservative thinker, Stein’s view on the conservative president comes from somebody who has supported the GOP for a long time. In 2008, Stein starred in the documentary Expelled, about public education’s fight against the concept of intelligent design. He has been at the forefront of people suggesting that the academic community is not necessarily free to discuss ideas contrary to commonly-held political beliefs among professors. Stein is outspoken politically and, like Chris Ingram, unafraid of calling out those whose actions or views warrant further discussion.
Stein calls himself a “big fan of” President Trump, but he is concerned about a potential trade war and hopes he continues to walk back from those threats.
Of course, despite the monotone voice, Ben Stein has a notable sense of humor. He was once the host of a Comedy Central game show called Win Ben Stein’s Money, which helped launch the career of Jimmy Kimmel. Chris asks about his career in entertainment as well as his career outside of it as an economist and speechwriter.
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