-
Warning: Spoilers ahead for ‘The Apprentice,’ the new Donald Trump biopic.
-
The controversial film premiered in US cinemas on October 11.
-
Business Insider has broken down how accurate the film is.
“The Apprentice” lets the audience know from the start that some of the events they are about to see are “fictionalized for dramatic purposes.”
In the new Donald Trump biopic, Marvel star Sebastian Stan plays a young Trump as he makes a name for himself in 1970s New York.
It focuses on his relationships with his mentor, political fixer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong); his father, Fred Trump (Martin Donovan); and his first wife, Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova).
The controversial film faced a legendary battle to get into theaters in the US, with Trump trying to block its release.
After the film finally hit U.S. theaters on October 11, the former president called it a “FAKE and CLASSLESS Movie.”
Business Insider took a look at how accurate it really is.
A Trump representative did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Where did Trump and Roy Cohn first meet?
As shown in the film, Trump and Cohn first met at a club in 1973. Cohn would go on to play a crucial role in Trump’s early career, acting as a mentor and representing him in legal proceedings.
Their first meeting took place at Le Club, a private members club frequented by New York elites in the 1970s, according to multiple reports.
Have Trump and his father faced a federal lawsuit for racial discrimination?
Cohn represented Trump in a 1973 case brought by the Justice Department alleging that Trump’s father’s real estate company, Trump Management, had discriminated against black rental applicants.
The case was settled after Trump unsuccessfully tried to counter the Justice Department for $100 million.
Cohn, a one-time aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy, also taught Trump at the time a simple three-step playbook to adhere to: “Attack, attack, attack,” “admit nothing, deny everything,” and always “claim victory.” and never admit defeat.”
Did Trump get a tax break from New York City for 40 years?
Later in “The Apprentice”, Trump is shown embarking on an ambitious project to convert the Commodore Hotel near Grand Central Terminal into the Grand Hyatt.
As noted on the Trump Organization’s website, the former president received an “unprecedented contract” from the city: a 40-year tax abatement for the building.
The New York Times reported in 2016 that the landmark deal had cost New York City $360 million in forgiven or uncollected taxes.
Did Trump rewrite his father’s will?
Before Fred Trump died in 1999 at the age of 93, Trump had reportedly tried to rewrite his father’s will to cement his position as sole executor of his father’s estate.
Citing depositions and other documents, The New York Times reported in 2018 that Fred Trump saw the move as an attempt to go behind his back and decided to strip his son of exclusive control of the estate.
A scene in ‘The Apprentice’ shows Trump badgering his elderly father to sign a document regarding the inheritance of his estate at his parents’ home.
Did Trump rape Ivana?
Trump met Czech model Ivana Zelníčková in New York in 1976. The two married the following year and would welcome three children: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
The film depicts their first courtship, marriage and the events leading to the dissolution of their relationship before their eventual divorce in the early 1990s.
One of the most controversial scenes in the film shows Trump violently throwing Ivana to the ground and sexually assaulting her.
Ivana, who died in 2022, said in a 1990 divorce decree that Trump raped her.
However, she later dismissed the claim when it was published in Harry Hurt III’s 1993 book, “The Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump.”
In 2015, she released a statement about the alleged incident, saying, “I recently read some comments attributed to me from almost 30 years ago during a time of very high tension during my divorce from Donald,” according to ABC News .
“The story is completely baseless. Donald and I are the best of friends and have raised three children together that we love and are very proud of,” she added.
Did Trump Use Amphetamines?
Trump has long said he abstains from drugs and alcohol, but the film shows him using amphetamines.
Journalist Gabriel Sherman, who wrote the script for “The Apprentice,” told Vanity Fair: “There have been other reports over the years that Trump in the ’80s took these pills that are essentially amphetamines, and they give you a kind of manic energy. .”
In “The Lost Tycoon,” Hurt also reportedly wrote that Trump was taking unnamed pills that “turned the already frantic Manhattan tycoon into a holy terror both at home and in the office.”
Trump denied the claims in Hurt’s book at the time, Vanity Fair reported.
Did Cohn negotiate Trump’s premarital agreement with Ivana?
The film shows Ivana reviewing a premarital agreement and discovering a problem with a clause about having to return gifts Trump gave her if they ever divorce. She throws her engagement ring at Trump and Cohn and storms out.
Sherman has said that this scene is “almost verbatim” of what actually happened leading up to the couple’s wedding.
He told Vanity Fair: “Roy insisted on arranging Donald’s prenup. It was a few days before the wedding and it almost blew up the wedding.”
“She was so furious about Roy’s prenup that Ivana insisted Donald give her money as a signing bonus,” he added.
Trump confirmed to The Washington Post in 2016 that Cohn represented him regarding the agreement.
Did Cohn die of AIDS-related complications?
The film shows that Cohn is becoming increasingly weaker because he is suffering from AIDS.
Cohn died in 1986 of complications from AIDS. He publicly maintained until his last days that he had liver cancer.
Did Trump Give Cohn Fake Diamond Cufflinks?
Near the end of the film, as Cohn’s health deteriorates, Trump invites him to dinner at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and presents him with Tiffany diamond cufflinks engraved with “Trump.”
Later in the film, Ivana Cohn tells her that the diamonds are fake.
The New York Times reported in 2016 that Trump once gave Cohn “a pair of diamond-encrusted cufflinks and buttons in a Bulgari box.”
Cohn’s partner, Peter Fraser, who inherited the items, said he later had them appraised and they turned out to be fake.
Did Trump Have Liposuction and Scalp Reduction?
The ending of ‘The Apprentice’ shows Trump getting liposuction to remove fat from his stomach and scalp reduction surgery to hide a bald spot on his head – a treatment that involves removing the skin from part of the scalp with hair is moved and used to cover bald. areas.
The hair procedure was another claim Ivana raised in the couple’s divorce decree, according to Vanity Fair.
Ivana reportedly said that the surgery was performed by her own doctor, Dr. Steven Hoefflin. She also said Trump underwent liposuction performed by Hoefflin.
Regarding his choice to make this the final series, Sherman told Vanity Fair, “It’s really the final stage of creating the monster that Roy Cohn created.”
“So visually, when you see him being operated on, it’s like Darth Vader getting his mask,” he added.
Read the original article on Business Insider
