Trump Campaign Calls Film Depicting His Early Rise ‘Malicious Defamation’

(L–R) Louis Tisné, Amy Baer, Gabriel Sherman, Maria Bakalova, Ali Abbasi, Sebastian Stan, and Martin Donovan attend the "The Apprentice" press conference at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, on May 21, 2024. Andre Pain-Pool/Getty Images

A film that depicts the rise of the future 45th president’s real estate business in the 1970s and ‘80s called “The Apprentice” has ignited rebuke and threats of litigation from the Trump 2024 presidential campaign.

The film, directed by Ali Abbasi, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20 and portrays the billionaire real estate magnate, played by the Romanian-born Marvel star Sebastian Stan, raping his now-deceased first wife, Ivana Trump, played by Maria Bakalova.

Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communication director, told The Epoch Times that the team will file a lawsuit “to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers.”

“This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have long been debunked,” Mr. Cheung said. “As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.”

According to a 2016 Associated Press report, Ms. Trump later stated that the rape allegation she made in a 1990 divorce deposition wasn’t literal but instead that she meant that she felt violated.

“This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not 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,” Mr. Cheung said.

Sebastian Stan, from left, director Ali Abbasi, and Maria Bakalova pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Apprentice' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 20, 2024. Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP

Roy Cohn’s Relationship With Trump

The film, which has nothing to do with the reality television show of the same name on which President Trump appeared for 14 seasons from 2004 to 2015, portrays the relationship between the now-deceased attorney Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong, and a young Mr. Trump as one of mentorship. 

Mr. Cohn, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1986, was reported to have coached Mr. Trump in his real estate business.

Mr. Cohn was Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel during the Army-McCarthy hearings when the late senator had made sweeping allegations of government agents and many in the entertainment industry engaging in communist agendas.

According to The Associated Press, Mr. Abbasi responded to the Trump campaign’s threat of litigation by stating, “Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people—they don’t talk about his success rate, though, you know?”

He offered to screen the film for President Trump, Mr. Abbasi said, so that they could discuss it.

“I don’t necessarily think that this is a movie he would dislike,” said Mr. Abbasi. “I don’t necessarily think he would like it. I think he would be surprised, you know? And like I’ve said before, I would offer to go and meet him wherever he wants and talk about the context of the movie, have a screening and have a chat afterwards, if that’s interesting to anyone at the Trump campaign.”

Director Alludes to Coming ‘Storm’

At the film’s premiere, Mr. Abbasi told the audience that there isn’t a friendly way to face “the rising wave of fascism,” and that movies need to return to political themes.

“The good people have been quiet for too long,” he said. “So I think it’s time to make movies relevant.”

He pointed to conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza as signs of more hard times to come.

“In the time of turmoil, there’s this tendency to look inwards, to bury your head deep in the sand, look inside and hope for the best—hope for the best, hope for the storm to get away,” Mr. Abbasi said. “But the storm is not going to get away. The storm is coming. The worst times are coming.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.