The Apprentıce - A Good Way To Understand Trump's Behavior

 We saw the film about Roy Cohn yesterday afternoon.  Of course, it also is about Donald Trump - the Apprentice in the film title.

Here's the LA Times review.  It also tells the story of how it was feared the film would not be publicly shown before the election.  But, alas, it appears it was in Anchorage - at just about every theater, all day, and now it's gone.  It would serve the public much better to have it show at different theaters different weeks, so that word of mouth could get out.  Since the Anchorage Daily News no longer lists or reviews movies, you pretty much have to go look on line and seek out movies, rather than get reminders while you're reading the newspaper.  

I started posting about Roy Cohn back in 2016, and it wasn't flattering.

June 19, 2016:  

". . . attack, counterattack and never apologize."  In the movie these are edited to Cohn's and Trump's three rules:   

1. Attack, Attack Attack
2. Admit nothing, Deny everything
3. No matter what happens, you claim victory and never admit defeat

You can hear Cohn (actor Jeremy Strong) list them in this trailer.  

 

June 24, 2016

"Roy Cohn was one of the most loathsome characters in American history, so why did he have so many influential friends?"

There really isn't much in the movie that adds to those eight year old posts.  

But seeing it today, in hindsight, you recognize many characteristics of Trump.  

Listen to any time he talks.  He follows Cohn's rules.  He attacks.  He never admits anything.  He denies everything.  And he claims victory despite what really happened.  (Did you know he totally defeated Harris in their debate?)

He doesn't answer questions that would reflect negatively on him.  Instead he changes the subject and/or attacks one or more of his current perceived enemies. He lies about what they've done, and calls them demeaning names.  

He never apologizes.  Ever.  

Listen for these three every time he talks.  

What most struck me about the movie was, what I'll call grittiness.  It's well edited, but it's often dark and there's a lot of hand held camera.  But it moves right along.  

Again, because I researched Cohn back in 2016 and did those two posts listed above, there isn't much in the film I didn't know and a lot I knew that was slightly touched on in the movie.  For instance, Cohen mentions (while telling Trump he's crazy to get married) that he almost got married to Barbara Walters until he realized she'd own half of what he owned.  That marriage would only be a way to cover his homosexuality.  But the movie doesn't tell you, Barbara Walters stayed loyal to him because he helped get a warrant for her father dismissed.  

But what did strike me as I watched the movie, was how Cohn, in two instances, helps Trump by going through his vast collection of tapes (he recorded all the rooms in his house when he had parties), he was able to get two rulings against Trump changed, by black mailing the decision makers with his tapes.  

I've speculated at times about Trump having dirt on most GOP members of Congress which keeps them supporting him, despite earlier denunciations of Trump.  Think of Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio, just to name three.  The movie reinforces that belief.  I wouldn't even be surprised if Russian intelligence hasn't helped him gather such compromising evidence.  

I was hoping to get this up to encourage folks to see the film.  Unfortunately that doesn't see likely for folks in Anchorage, but I'd hope in other places the film will play longer.  

I'd note that at the end of September, we let our Netflix subscription lapse.  I was hoping that would give me more time to read and blog, but so far that hasn't happened that way.  My daily hour at my local elementary school, and preparation for it, takes up a lot of time, but is very gratifying.  The teacher said the other day that my guy is doing much better in class.  I decided that I need to have him work on reading in Spanish.  He can't do that fluently, but he can slowly, and with help, work out the words.  And I can feel his sense of achievement when he gets the word.  In English, he doesn't know enough words to get that satisfaction.  And my hope is that when he can read more fluently in Spanish, English will be easier to tackle.  But he does have a fair passive English vocabulary - that is, he understands things I ask him to do.  And just hearing me repeat the same kinds of questions and instructions in English everyday drills those words and phrases in.