The team for the Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice responded to the former president’s criticism of the movie in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 14.
The film’s social media team’s response came after the Republican presidential candidate posted criticism of the movie on his social media platform Truth Social, alleging that the movie is defamatory and accusing the team of trying to hurt his chances to win the presidency.
The X account for The Apprentice movie posted an image of the post and wrote, “We couldn’t think of a better endorsement @RealDonaldTrump. #TheApprentice is Now Playing in Theaters nationwide!”
The response gained 555,000 views, 17,000 likes, and 4,500 re-posts on X.
Charles Sykes/Associated Press
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email outside of business hours.
In his post, Trump wrote, “A FAKE and CLASSLESS Movie written about me, called, The Apprentice (Do they even have the right to use that name without approval?), will hopefully ‘bomb.”
He continued, “It’s a cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job, put out right before the 2024 Presidential Election, to try and hurt the Greatest Political Movement in the History of our Country, ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'”
Trump continued to voice his disapproval of the way in which the film depicts his relationship with his first wife, the late Ivana Trump, and criticized the screenwriter, political journalist and author Gabe Sherman, calling him a “lowlife and talentless hack.”
Director Ali Abbasi also responded to Trump’s post on X and wrote, “Thanks for getting back to us @realDonaldTrump. I am available to talk further if you want. Today is a tight day w a lot of press for #TheApprentice but i might be able to give you a call tomorrow.”
The Apprentice, written by Sherman purportedly based on “records of real events” and directed by Abbasi, was released on October 11 and stars Sebastian Stan as Trump, Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, and more.
The film, with a $16 million budget, focuses on Trump’s life in New York in the 1970s and 1980s, and highlights his relationships with his lawyer Cohn and his first wife, according to Forbes.
In a previous statement to Newsweek, Trump’s campaign communications director Steven Cheung said, “The filmmakers now readily admit they fabricated scenes and created fake stories to fit some deranged narrative about President Trump that is completely untrue. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.”
He continued, “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should never see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire.”
Cheung told Variety in May that the campaign would be filing a lawsuit against the movie, following a previous lawsuit against the film from investor Dan Snyder, who objected to the film’s portrayal of Trump.
While speaking to the Associated Press about a potential Trump lawsuit, Abbasi said, “I don’t think they have a case. So now I’m back safe in Europe, now they can bring it on. I’m not afraid anymore.”
Although the film has received praise on X and a rating of 79 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it has not been so successful at the box office.
The film opened in the box office in 10th place, making $1.6 million in ticket sales, which is low in comparison to other newly released films including Terrifier 3, The Wild Robot, Joker: Folie à Deux, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and more.
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