Frank Sinatra Supported Both John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon at Different Points in His Career

The legendary singer and actor Frank Sinatra died in 1998 at the age of 82. During his almost lifelong career, he was known for singing, performing, and acting, but what were Frank Sinatra's politics? He never made a switch to a political career in office, but he did make a lot of his political beliefs known. The only thing is, because his ideas on certain social issues shifted throughout the years, it's hard for some to pin down exactly what he believed more than anything else.

That's because, from the '60s until his death in the '90s, Frank had backed politicians and had spoken out about issues that ranged from liberal views to staunchly Republican. Did he favor one political party over another, or was Frank just well-rounded when it came to politics? There are some clues from over the years that point to what he believed in.

Early in life, Frank was a very public Democrat. According to the Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative, Frank campaigned for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and reportedly spoke at rallies for Roosevelt's re-election. He even reportedly donated $5,000 to the cause. Later, he spoke out against the 1965 Watts Riot in Los Angeles. Then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey spoke positively of Frank's anti-prejudice beliefs, per the Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative.

In 1944, Frank starred in the short film The House I Live In. In the film, Frank plays himself. He speaks to a group of boys about accepting other people regardless of what they look like or where they might be from. He delivers a lengthy monologue about acceptance in an anti-discrimination message.

But Frank also went on to support Republican politicians, like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. According to Frank's daughter, Nancy Sinatra, though, Frank's politics are clear enough without focusing on which party he did or didn't back from time to time. She cleared it up a bit in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in 2019.

"To answer a question from a deleted tweet. Yes, Frank Sinatra was a registered Democrat all of his life but voted Republican occasionally," she wrote.

When someone replied to the X post to ask if Frank had ever met Donald Trump, Nancy replied, "Yes. It didn't go very well."

Nancy also said that, when Frank voted for Nixon, he did so because he agreed with Nixon's plans for open relations with China.

She explained, "My dad said something like 'You can't sweep a billion Chinese people under the rug.'"

In April 2026, after Trump used a clip of Frank singing "My Way" in a Truth Social post and quoted the song in his post, Nancy spoke out against Trump using her father's music and video. She wrote on X that the post was "sacrilege."

In another post, she replied to someone who asked about her removing the video from Trump's post. To that, she replied, "The only people who can do something are the publishers."