Whatever you think of President-elect Donald Trump as a person or politician, his tastes as a film fan are solid. Here are Donald Trump’s five favorite movies, as well as a fun action movie he’s not at all ashamed to have enjoyed.
One of Donald Trump’s Favorite Movies Is Citizen Kane
How do we know Donald Trump’s favorite films? Because long before he entered politics, he provided Movieline with list of them.
His top choice was Citizen Kane, about a publishing mogul-turned-politician.
“It is one of the greats of all time. The acting, the story, the production values are all superb. The fact that it was Orson Welles’ first feature film is also impressive, and the mystery of Rosebud in the midst of a narrative about a business power play gives it further resonance. Hard to beat,” Trump told Movieline back in 2012.
Another of Donald Trump’s Favorite Movies Is The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Next on the real estate tycoon and future president’s 2012 Movieline list was the 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood.
Eastwood, of course, is a fellow politician — he was once the mayor of Carmel, California — and spoke at the 2012 Republican convention.
Eastwood is also on our list of Stars of the 1950s Who Are Still Going Strong.
Another of Donald Trump’s Favorite Movies Is Goodfellas
Whether you think Donald Trump should be watching movies in the White House or a prison cell, it’s hard to disagree with him on this 1990 mob epic by Martin Scorsese. It’s bridge-and-tunnel glamour is pure Trump.
“Great entertainment, with a stellar cast and terrific direction. The intensity propelled the story forward and the ‘business’ and how it was handled was impressive,” Trump told Movieline.
Scorsese drew a link between his 2019 gangster epic The Irishman and Donald Trump in a Directors Guild of America conversation with Spike Lee. Scorsese shared some observations about how both mob bosses and the then-President Donald Trump expressed their wishes.
“It was 2016 when the election happened. It was 2017 [when we shot this],” Scorsese said. “It was there. It was prominent [and] as it played it out there was resonance, there’s no doubt, in those scenes. I think you can see how pressure is applied. How things are said, but not said. Yet technically you can say, “They didn’t say this.” You follow?”
Another Favorite Trump Movie Is The Godfather
Speaking of gangsters applying pressure, this unassailable mafia story, the mob epic of all mob epics, also made Trump’s 2012 top five films. Another good choice.
One More Favorite Trump Movie Is Gone With the Wind
This 1939 film pops up fairly frequently in our modern culture wars, considering it’s nearly as old as Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The film’s negative portrayals of its Black characters led the platform that was then called HBO Max to briefly removed it from its catalogue in June 2020.
A backlash ensued, and HBO Max restored it with a disclaimer acknowledging that “the film’s treatment of this world through a lens of nostalgia denies the horrors of slavery, as well as its legacies of racial inequality.”
But there’s one more movie Donald Trump seems really, really into…
Bonus Trump Movie: Bloodsport
A 1997 New Yorker profile illustrated that Trump also has a fondness for ’80s action movies. At one point, on a short flight to Atlantic City, he popped in the Jean-Claude Van Damme action film Bloodsport, calling it “an incredible, fantastic movie.” He had one of his sons fast-forward through the slow parts “to get this two-hour movie down to forty-five minutes.”
At one point, the New Yorker writer laughed.
“Admit it, you’re laughing!” Trump shouted. “You want to write that Donald Trump was loving this ridiculous Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, but are you willing to put in there that you were loving it, too?”
Honorable Mention
In campaign speeches, Trump kept sharing the not popular opinion Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, is as “a wonderful man.” We’re pretty sure he was kidding.
What Is Kamala Harris’ Favorite Movie?
According to The Independent, she has listed the fantastic 1992 My Cousin Vinny as her favorite film.
The film stars Joe Pesci as a fast-talking New York lawyer who comes to the rescue of his cousin (Ralph Macchio) when he and a friend get into some legal trouble down South. Marisa Tomei won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her scene-stealing part in the legal comedy.
Another Kamala Harris Pick
Before she became vice president, she said the 2018 blockbuster Black Panther “was more than a movie — it was a moment of collective celebration” while she joined the nation in mourning the August 2020 loss of star Chadwick Boseman.
She has also talked about the Marvel Cinematic Universe with convincing familiarity during a fundraiser with Marvel stars for the Biden-Harris campaign in October 2020.
And… What Is Joe Biden’s Favorite Movie?
Joe Biden was asked for his favorite movie in 2008, and rather than offer a top five, he went with a film about close races.
“Chariots of Fire is, I think, probably my favorite movie. But the truth of the matter is the thing about it, there is a place where someone put personal fame and glory behind principles. That to me, is the mark of real heroism, when someone would do that,” Biden said.
The film is about two track athletes, one Jewish and one Christian, competing in the 1924 Olympics.
Liked This List of Donald Trump’s Favorite Movies?
You might also like this list of 13 Very Profitable Movies That Made More Than 100 Times Their Budget at the Box Office, including American Graffiti, above.
Main image: Donald Trump in Home Alone 2. 20th Century Fox
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