Staff Reports
Former President Donald Trump has once again taken to Truth Social to express his disdain for a film that attempts to chronicle his life, calling it nothing short of a smear campaign. The movie, titled “The Apprentice,” aims to depict Trump’s rise during the 1970s and 1980s under the guidance of attorney Roy Cohn. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, but it appears that instead of accolades, it has drawn the ire of its subject.
Trump didn’t hold back in his critique, labeling the film as “defamatory” and a “hatchet job.” His post suggests that this expensive piece of celluloid is clearly designed to deliver a cheap shot at the man who brought America the “Make America Great Again” movement. If the filmmakers hoped to draw the former president into the limelight, they might need to reassess their promotional strategies since the reviews are likely to reflect more of a collective eye-roll from audiences.
Donald Trump lashes out against Sebastian Stan's "The Apprentice" by calling it a "fake and classless movie."
"It’s a cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job, put out right before the 2024 Presidential Election, to try and hurt the Greatest Political Movement… pic.twitter.com/8m28cekTFG
— Variety (@Variety) October 14, 2024
Casting Sebastian Stan as Trump and Jeremy Strong as Cohn, the film may have aimed for an Oscar but ended up with a ticket stub for a one-way trip to low ratings. Although it’s not shocking that Hollywood would create another narrative to tear down a prominent conservative figure, the box office results speak louder than the glorified spin. The film stumbled out of the gate, landing a dismal tenth place and raking in a meager $1.6 million during its opening weekend. One can only imagine production executives now contemplating how to polish this cinematic disaster with the faint hope that future audiences might forgive and forget.
Critics of the film have not stopped at the portrayal of Trump. The former president also expressed displeasure with how his late ex-wife, Ivana, was depicted. Citing the credentials of the film’s writer, Gabe Sherman, Trump pointed out that the man behind this so-called narrative has been “widely discredited.” The vitriol in Trump’s post highlights a feeling among conservatives that there are always maligning motives when it comes to media representations of their figures, especially when the timing coincides with an election season.
As this film garners more attention for its bizarre attempts at storytelling rather than any real substance, it seems that Trump is not the only individual having a good chuckle. The audience responses mirror his sentiments, and Hollywood may need to consider whether anti-Trump films are drawing in viewers or just reinforcing the idea that this kind of negativity is only leading to box office boondoggles. If only they had left this wannabe biopic on the cutting room floor, maybe audiences wouldn’t have to endure the spectacle of it flopping.
