Like most weak men who pretend to be strong, Donald Trump has a heckuva martyr complex. His is just bigger than most. On Saturday, he dropped a new propaganda ad that showed him looking both mighty and besieged, all while a stirring speech played on the soundtrack. The monologue may sound familiar: It’s from this year’s Air Jordan docudrama Air, delivered by no less than star Matt Damon. If you thought Trump and team got permission to use it, then you might believe he didn’t mishandle classified government documents, too.
As per Mediaite, Actors Equity, the production company founded and co-owned by Damon and Ben Affleck — who directed the film, in which he also appears as Nike honcho Phil Knight — released a statement confirming the obvious.
“We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement,” the statement read. They also reminded the Trump campaign that copyright and intellectual property law prohibits them from using material without consent. They added, “we do not grant such consent.”
The ad pilfers a speech Damon’s character, NBA scout Sonny Vaccaro delivers towards the end when he’s trying to coax young Michael Jordan into signing with the then-floundering Nike.
“You’re going to change the f*cking world,” Vaccaro tells a young basketball player who will soon dominate the sport, not a self-pitying twice-impeached, twice-indicted former president who might be headed for the clink. “But you know what? Once they’ve built you as high as they possibly can, they’re gonna tear you back down. It’s the most predictable pattern.”
Trump is now cutting web videos w/ Matt Damon’s Air monologue as narration… pic.twitter.com/cBMBOaUr0Q
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 10, 2023
When reached for comment about Affleck and Damon’s response, the Trump campaign replied thusly:
I sent Artist Equity’s statement to a Trump campaign spokesperson.
This was their response: pic.twitter.com/22cYQ5rwRH— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 10, 2023
It’s not the first time a film directed by Ben Affleck — who, like Damon, is a noted Democrat who doesn’t care for Mr. Trump — has been misappropriated by rightwing weirdos. In 2011, then-House majority whip Kevin McCarthy used a speech from The Town to amp up his party before a vote. It was a monologue in which criminals talked about doing crimes, so perhaps McCarthy was just being prescient about one of the GOP’s then-future presidents.
Air now streams on Amazon Prime.
(Via Mediaite)