Among many other shareable and GIF-able moments, Aaron Sorkin’s sometimes heavy-handed, but otherwise fantastic The Newsroom gifted HBO with one of the most memorable opening scenes on television. Prompted with an asinine question about why America is the greatest country in the world, news anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) produces a fantastic tirade about how America isn’t the greatest country in the world anymore. Not only is Daniels’ dialogue rife with plenty of Sorkin verbiage, but it even includes a light bit of piano music for dramatic effect. Bloomberg Politics apparently wanted to recreate these effects for the current presidential election, so they somehow convinced the actor to go full McAvoy on presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
This time, the question concerns why Trump is the “best case scenario” for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Daniels jokes about Trump’s previous monetary donations to the Clinton family’s various political campaigns, but when pressed for a better answer, the piano (and a few added strings) cue up. Hell, one of the program’s staffers even holds up a sign saying “HE’S NOT” — an obvious homage to the “IT’S NOT, BUT IT COULD BE” signs shown in the original Newsroom scene.
Enter McAvoy:
“Because he’s not the best case scenario, John. That’s my answer! Yeah, Donald Trump is a fact-bending loose cannon who alienates mainstream voters with everything he says. But he gets constant media attention for free. There won’t be a day from now until November when Trump isn’t on every TV channel. And with a straight face, you’re going to tell me that electing a woman is unprecedented? … 22 sovereign states in the world have already beat us on this.”
Throw in a few pointed (and not surprising) jokes about millennials, allegedly deleted emails on Clinton’s private email servers, and Trump’s hand size and wah lah! McAvoy reappears before our very, cable news-soaked eyes for a few brief minutes.
(Via Bloomberg Politics)