Funnyman Jim Gaffigan risked life and livelihood because ‘I didn’t want to explain to my grandchildren that I didn’t fight to stop Trump’

Foodie, comedian and suddenly inspired activist Jim Gaffigan got political after the president’s RNC speech last week because he felt he had no other choice. He also discovered threats against his life and livelihood would be part of the deal for speaking up on Twitter about politics.

The 54-year-old funnyman posted a long open letter on Facebook late Sunday, explaining why he critically tweeted nearly 20 times after Trump “profoundly” accepted his party’s nomination for reelection.

Guest editor Jim Gaffigan breaks The News

His Facebook posting is called “What I’ve Learned Since I Lost My Mind.”

Gaffigan starts his open letter with an apology for his writing skills, then concedes he isn’t a political philosopher, either.

“To be clear upfront I don’t think anyone is going to let an actor or a comedian tell them who to vote for despite the fact that the current President is essentially both and actor and a comedian,” Gaffigan wrote.

He then praised the president for being “Possibly the best salesman I’ve seen in my lifetime,” calling him “charming, funny” and able to appear sincere.

But Gaffigan said that while he feels “all” politicians twist the facts, their intentions tend to be good and Trump’s are not.

“This isn’t just a feeling,” he said. “This is something I’ve known for a long time.”

Gaffigan admitted that he’ll lose fans for speaking out against the president he believes may have already ruined the country, but said there are more important things than making money.

“I feel a responsibility to coming generations, my children but selfishly I didn’t want to explain to my grandchildren that I didn’t fight to stop Trump,” he wrote. “Maybe they will see that I stood up for decency, rule of law, and equality.”

The Peoria, Ill., native, who grew-up in Indiana, also said that he thinks Trump supporters in middle America aren’t as simple as people on the coasts may think and they, too, know the president is a conman. They just think he’ll address the issues they find important.

“I also believe many of the people who support Trump are good, decent people that have been fed lies and misinformation,” he said, calling out Trump’s surrogates on Fox News and “conspiracy theorists,” wherever they may lurk.

Now a New Yorker, Gaffigan said his rant last week was geared toward people from middle America — like himself —who may be scared by rhetoric about their towns being targeted by whatever bogeyman Trump is selling.

“I realized Thursday night if these people were frightened enough by Trump and the GOP lies, they would pinch their nose and vote for Trump,” he worried.

Gaffigan described his Twitter rant as “liberating,” but said the push back was eye-opening.

For one, he didn’t realize how convincing computer-operated “bots” could be and even found himself arguing with a non-human tweeter. He was also surprised by how many actual people believe all of the seemingly absurd conspiracy theories his “progressive friends” write off as silly, which includes the president’s claim that Joe Biden is “a Trojan horse” being used by far left extremists to take over the government.

Some social media users, according to Gaffigan, suggested he was being paid to speak out against Trump and that the Twitter storm was a publicity stunt. He insisted those theories are not based in reality.

The Catholic father of five said he’s also learned that Trump loyalists see him as “THEIR president” and perceive disagreement with him as a personal affront.

“To me that is not only weird but kind of scary,” Gaffigan said.

He posted what he thought might be one of the threats he said he’s received. It reads “Unsubscribed — you’ll be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life. Enjoy.”

In conclusion, Gaffigan apologized to his wife and writing partner Jeannie for using profanity on Twitter and stopped short of endorsing Biden.

“If you are still on the fence I encourage you to vote not for who I want you to vote for but for who your grandchildren would be proud you f-----g voted for.”

He apologized to Jeannie again after using that profanity.

Gaffigan doesn’t take tweeting lightly. During a 2016 visit with the Daily News he talked about an upcoming episode of “The Jim Gaffigan Show” he based on a real life experience that taught him “We’re all one tweet away from career suicide.”