THE APPRENTICE TRIES TO EXPLAIN THE TRUMP PUZZLE

Donald Trump attracts voters regardless of his dangerous policy pronouncements, so domestic and foreign pundits have been baffled, unable to explain how such a person could exist in the United States of America. The Apprentice, directed by Ali Abbasi, seeks to lay out how his life evolved and why he is such a Frankenstein.

For some reason, a video of Richard Nixon appears at the beginning of the film, presumably to inform filmviewers that his presidency was a model for Trump, though later the Reagan model is presented in the form of a campaign button Making American Great Again. But the film pushes a third model as the most important of all—Roy Cohen. Nowhere is there any mention of his father’s political influence.

When The Apprentice begins, Trump (Sebastian Stan) is a young, attractive even sexy man in his early 20s. He is collecting rent from tenants in a shabby apartment building. He obviously dislikes that role and instead seeks to make a dramatic impact on the real estate industry in New York. His vision is for a multistory, lavish hotel and condo on 42nd Street to replace a hotel that once existed but now is in ruins, hiding behind an ugly wall near Grand Central Station (and the New York Public Library, though the director is not eager to portray New York as a fine city). The proposed Trump Tower would be a magnificent transformation of that street and even the city as a whole but would cost a lot. When Trump tries to obtain financing, he is rebuffed by a major New York financier. He then runs into Roy Cohen (Jeremy Strong), who impresses him as a man who gets things done despite the odds. After several efforts to get into Cohen’s inner circle, including vomiting after drinking from Cohen’s liquor bottle and observing gay sex scenes, Trump finally becomes his “apprentice,” learning such rules as attack, never admit defeat, and always declare victory.

The first test comes when Cohen defends Trump for refusing to rent apartments to Blacks. The outcome is an out-of-court settlement and payment. The second test is about the proposed Trump Tower.

Cohen even reveals to Trump that he has a collection of tape recordings that he can use to blackmail any person in authority to get whatever he wants. Cohen then suggests that the cost of the Trump Tower project will be much lower if the project is allowed to proceed free of taxes, so he testifies before a meeting on Trump’s behalf and succeeds. Trump learns that rules and regulations should never be followed but violated and later litigated.

The next test is Trump’s proposal for a luxurious Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City. Cohen is skeptical, since Trump does not know how to run a casino, but the project proceeds, and Trump demonstrates his prominence by not paying Cohen for some legal action, whereupon the two fall out. For some reason, when Cohen later has liver cancer (not HIV-AIDS) and cannot walk. Trump later in the film wheels him around, has a sumptuous birthday party for him, and pays respect on his death.

No such respect is evident when Trump dines with his own family. He tries to bring his Trump Tower project to fruition behind his father’s back, though he receives congratulations afterward from his father Fred (Martin Donovan) and mother Mary Ann (Catherine McNally).

The film also portrays his sex life, as he is attracted to beautiful women and marries Ivana (Maria Bakalova) evidently because she has a way of dressing that attracts attention to him. But he has no interest in a home life with Ivana, who protests so much one day that he knocks her down and rapes her.

The film ends with a conversation with journalist Tony Schwartz (Eoin Duffy), who has been asked to write a book to honor Trump. Known as The Art of the Deal, the book was published in 1987. Trump instructs Schwartz what Trumpian principles to include in the book, though their origin, according to the film, is from Roy Cohen. The aim of the book appears to be to launch a political career.

The film still does not explain why Trump cozies up to dictators, treats women as pawns, and hates Blacks and immigrants. For that explanation of his Social Darwinism, which comes from his father, readers are encouraged to read Shaking Things Up (2023), which has the subtitle How Donald Trump Changed the Government in Washington, and provides details on how he implemented his Social Darwinist beliefs. 

The Political Film Society has nominated The Apprentice as best film exposé of 2024.  MH