Before the days of Rudy Giuliani saying “Truth isn’t truth,” Donald Trump was a reality star. So what prompted him to run for office?
Michael Moore has a theory, and he shared it while promoting his new film on Trump.
Moore says that the blame for Trump’s run for office can ulimately be laid at the feet of … Gwen Stefani. What?!
In a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Moore shares his curious theory about what heralded our current political nightmare.
While it’s a bit of an oversimplification to blame Gwen Stefani … he basically blames Gwen Stefani.
See, Gwen was getting paid more to be a coach on The Voice than Trump was for starring on The Apprentice. Both shows were on NBC.
Moore’s theory is that Trump staged that first, infamous political rally as a stunt to remind NBC of his value as an entertainer.
And here we are in 2018, where every day is steeped in misery and dread. Is this all Gwen’s fault?
“He’d been talking about running for president since 1988,” Moore tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Trump spoke of the idea, like anyone who always believes that they could do better, Moore says, “but he didn’t really want to be president.”
“There’s no penthouse in the White House,” Moore explains.
Presidents work relentlessly at hours that they seldom get to choose. They are under constant scrutiny and carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.
“And,” Moore adds. “He doesn’t want to live in a black city” like Washington D.C.
“He was trying to pit NBC against another network,” Moore summarizes.
Moore says that all that Trump wanted was a little more money and attention, “but it just went off the rails.”
Trump’s stunt, if Moore is correct about his intentions, backfired disastrously.
While any hefty dose of anti-immigration rhetoric is going to be exciting to racists, Trump referring to Mexican immigrants as “rapists” was too openly hateful.
NBC severed their ties with Trump, leaving him without a show … but with crowds of enthusiastic fans who clung to his every word.
Obviously, Gwen Stefani is not actually to blame for our current existential misery.
Of course she was being paid more for her role on The Voice — she’s a huge star.
Trump was, at the time, just a famous buffoon whom most people didn’t consider to be a political figure at all unless they remembered his “birther” antics.
In fact, it was smart of him to secure the regular salary of a reality series. That’s a good idea for anyone who is famously terrible at running a business.
This also isn’t NBC’s fault. Cutting ties with him after his racist comments was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, too much of the electorate did not feel the same way.
Trump is not Gwen’s fault. The Trump Regime is the fault of Donald Trump, of the society that paved the way for him, and of everyone who voted for him.
Moore’s theory may also ignore that Trump had apparently been plotting this since 2012, even registering trademarks in the buildup to his 2015 announcement.
Notably, Trump’s trip to Russia is believed by many to have helped to fuel his desire to run for office.
Moore may be right in that Trump never planned to win, but we’re not sure that Gwen’s salary was the impetus that he believes it to be.
As always, however, Michael Moore’s perspective is an interesting one to hear, even if you do not agree with him.
