Federalist: In a culture that follows President Donald Trump’s every move, word, and tweet, few of even his core supporters could name the film he considers most significant. Repeatedly, in separate interviews over the decades, the now-leader of the free world has named 1941 cinematic masterpiece “Citizen Kane” as his favorite movie.
Several observers have noted parallels between Trump’s public persona and the fictional plot: A man of great charisma rises from obscurity into wealth and power, first through popular media, then as a political candidate. Back in 2002, Trump commented on the classic film’s message. “I think you learn in ‘Kane’ that maybe wealth isn’t everything,” he said. “Because he had the wealth, but he didn’t have the happiness.”
On Sept. 7, filmmaker Robert Orlando releases “Citizen Trump,” a feature-length documentary that examines the life and rise of the man who today dominates national politics. “Since my years in film school, I’ve been trained to see nuances in this drama,” said Orlando in a phone interview. “Watching ‘Citizen Kane’ again this spring during the lockdown, it struck me how much the sequencing of this narrative matched up with the rise of Donald Trump.” more
Im not buying it. I have Citizen Kane on DVD and will watch it again with that in mind, but let’s say I am extremely skeptical.
I’m somewhat of a movie buff, I have about 3,000 on DVD and VHS. I like Kane, I think Touch of Evil is much better, maybe his best or at least I enjoy it more but Kane is no where near my top 10.
The naming of the sled Rosebud was a pretty cool dig at Hearst who detested Wells. That was his name for her clitoris. Or so it’s said, Wells never copped to it.
Do the Presidents’ and Kane’s life follow similar tracks? Some but not so much IMO. I watched a multi episode story of Trump on Netflix about a year ago and I thought it was mostly fair and well done.
Rosebud…
“Citizen Kane” truly is one of the greatest movies ever made, but Trump’s life is even more incredible. “Citizen Kane” was loosely based on William Randolph Hearst’s life. Hearst ran for public office in New York several times, because he wanted to become President of the United States; but he couldn’t close the deal even though he had all his newspapers touting his qualifications. Donald J. Trump got elected President without ever running for any other public office, and he had all the MSDM attacking him from the minute he announced his candidacy. He vanquished all of his opponents and saved this country from President Elect Hillary Rodham Clinton. No screenwriter could have written this improbable story and sold it to a movie studio.
President Trump (MILST) has what Hearst/Kane didn’t have, a sincere and earnest desire to truly serve this country well rather than his lust for more _____ (fill in the blank).
Also, President MILST didn’t allow the ego of himself or some hot woman to blind him to —- himself. He never built a Xanadu as a museum (or rather – a memorial) to his life.
While President MILST has built an empire of Trump Estates, it never became his mausoleum as Xanadu/Hearst Castle did for Kane/Hearst.
One last comparison/opposite is that while Kane secretly yearned for Rosebud (more to the point – the simpler life and love he had known as a child) I believe that President MILST never lost that feeling/knowledge/understanding.
The confidence that comes from a close & personal family that loves one another and builds each other up through the skinned knees and failed exams prepares a person for a life of success, something that Kane was yanked away from far too early; similar to a pup that is weaned way too early.
And I’ll leave you with a fine example of that “weaned too early & I miss my mommy so I’ll take it out on everybody” nature in a person: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m7SGjJo7c4 (the pen falling is analogous to the snowglobe falling for Kane, but for Anton Ego he at least wasn’t on his deathbed).
Im not buying it