Dem
51
GOP
49
Here is the question we put before readers last week:
P.F. in Fairbanks, AK, asks: If (when?) Donald Trump's life is turned into a movie, which actor do you think would best portray him? You may bend the rules and choose someone no longer living if need be. Bonus: What would you title the movie?
And here some of the answers we got in response:
L.B. in Boise, ID: Alec Baldwin. He has experience with the role, and he could shoot someone on a movie set and not lose any supporters.
(Probably in bad taste, but I can't be the only one thinking this.)
S.W. in New York City, NY: Casting for Trumped: For younger Trump, Joaquin Phoenix (or Hunter Biden if we're casting non-actors); for older Trump, Raymond Burr; for all his wives, drag queens.
D.M. in Austin, TX: Gary Busey:
J.A. in Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Charlie Chaplin in The Hate Dictator.
D.M. in Oakland, CA: In a world where convincing likenesses can be achieved between Gary Oldman and Winston Churchill, Helen Mirren and Golda Meir, or Christian Bale and Dick Cheney, I think it has to be stipulated that pretty much anybody could end up playing Donald Trump. That being the case, I think the best casting would be the casting most likely to render him apoplectic.
Accordingly: Stormy Daniels is Donald Trump in 90 Seconds: The Trump Story (Extended Cut).
B.S. in Indianapolis, IN: Roseanne Barr in 50 Shades of Cray Cray.
J.L. in Long Beach, CA: The title will be Fear of Failure because, in the end, deep down, that's the sole motivator of the man's entire deeply pathetic and performative life. Preferably made posthumously, and sooner rather than later.
The actor will be Charles Laughton, around 1957. Laughton did nasty film characters better than anyone else I can think of. Also, it works in terms of physical resemblance:
R.C. in Lenexa, KS: I propose Will Ferrell for the role of DJT. He has previously played an uninformed, incurious, and uncaring Republican President, namely George W. Bush. Thus, he has trained for the part.
For the movie title: I propose Bigly, which has to be among the Trumpiest of all Trump's "best words:.
L.M. in Tampa, FL: The actor would depend on whether the movie was intended as a comedy or a drama.
For the comedy version, I'd choose Nathan Lane, 5'5", and he'd have to play it in 10-inch platform shoes. All the other actors would have to pretend not to notice the shoes whenever Lane, as Trump, was in earshot.
For the drama version, the living actor I would choose would be Zach Galifianakis. I think he could do justice to the dichotomy of outward bluster and inward feelings of inferiority. (But if Philip Seymour Hoffman were alive, I'd choose him.)
The bonus question is easier. I'd call it Tawdry: the Life and Times of Donald Trump. The advertising copy would have all the Ts enlarged, using the gothic font of the New York Times. The remaining letters would be in the Comic Sans font. It would be ugly on purpose.
S.T. in Philadelphia, PA: Gérard Depardieu. No question. He's a fellow corpulent, aging showman who nonetheless fancies himself a heartthrob. A fellow credibly accused rapist and admitted serial sexual assaulter, as well as a fellow tax-dodger and Russophile. Like Trump, willing to give up his own country for financial gain. Who nonetheless still commands legions of fanatical followers among his own betrayed people whom he successfully plays for carnival marks.
K.J.O. in Brookdale, NJ: I elect Peter Sellers to play Donald Trump. In my view Trump definitely wants to be in charge and feels he is best suited to run the show. He believes he is the most qualified and any other person would fail. However in fact he is a bumbling idiot not qualified to lead in any endeavor. I would resurrect Peter Sellers to play the role. Sellers was a master portraying bumbling idiots such as Inspector Clouseau.
W.V. in Andover, MN: When I see Trump walk on stage and just stand there, I also get a visual image of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster in the 1931 film:
J.B. and G.C.B. in Fort Kent, ME: Orson Welles: He portrayed the Trump-like Charles Foster Kane (a blending of media moguls William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer), so Welles certainly comes to mind. My wife suggests a title, too: CONvict.
J.C. in Northbrook, IL: The Big Lie, starring Brendan Fraser
A.M. in Brookhaven, PA: If I was producing a movie about Trump, I would choose the late Dick Shawn who played the lead in Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden from The Producers (1967 version). Clearly, the movie would be titled Springtime for Trump: A Gay Romp with Donald and Family at Mar-a-Lago.
R.L.D. in Sundance, WY: I'd say the person to play Trump is definitely Jeff Daniels, but Dumb and Dumber is already a thing.
K.H. in Ypsilanti, MI: The obvious choice would be Thomas F. Wilson, best known as Biff in the Back to the Future series. Of course, it could be argued he's already played that role.
B.C. in Walpole, ME: Lots of actors can do a credible Trump, so I only offer suggested titles for the movie:
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Mein Trumpf
How to Succeed in Business without Really Succeeding in Business
The Devil Called Down to Georgia
Worse Than the Disease
Who Knows Where 187 Minutes Goes
91 Shades of Indictment
Profiles in Grift
The Power of Positive Delusion
Donnie Get Your Lawyer
The Color Orange
Other People's Money
The Clothes Have No Emperor
Missed it by Just That Much
The Man Who Saved America from Ron DeSantis
The Greatest Sneakers Ever Sold
Cheating at Golf
Code Name: Chaos
Arrested Development
The Untouchable
Here is the question for next week:
B.L. in Hudson, NY, asks: What is "Canadian conservative"? How does this differ from American conservatism?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Conservative, Eh"!