“I don’t suppose anybody ever had so many opinions. But he never believed in anything except Charlie Kane. He never had a conviction except Charlie Kane in his life.”
Sound like anyone we know?
Donald Trump has said in multiple interviews since the early 90s that his favorite film is Citizen Kane. It is likely he sees a reflection of himself in the millionaire Charles Foster Kane, they have a lot in common. They both believe in nothing but themselves. They both engage in behavior deemed unethical, but with very different results. And Donald Trump interpreted the themes of the movie in a way that is different than I did.
Both Charles Foster Kane and Donald J. Trump acquired a great sum of money at a young age. Kane through his mother, Trump through his father. They took that money and created empires for themselves in newspapers and real estate respectively. Each of their first marriages ended due to an affair with women they later married and divorced again. They both owned enormous, lavish personal sanctuaries, both in Florida, both with whimsical names, Xanadu and Mar-a-Lago. And they both have over-the-top belief in themselves.
Charlie Kane’s best friend in the world says he never believed in anything except himself. He builds a campaign for governor based on no promises at all, but rather just by getting people to believe in him and what he stands for. Donald Trump similarly engages in banter that consistently contradicts things he previously said, but he won the hearts of many people across the United States because he himself is a brand. He believes in himself, so he sells others on believing in him, too. In fact, many Trump voters don’t care about him keeping his campaign promises at all. To them, he is enough.
One thing that highlights how much the culture has changed since Citizen Kane was released, is the way the public reacts to scandal. The married Charles Foster Kane being caught having an affair automatically disqualifies him from winning the governor’s seat, and causes a fall in grace from the general public. However, Trump not only has had extra-marital affairs, he has also said lewd, sexually demeaning things about women in general. He was not elected by his conservative base because he exemplifies living in accordance with traditional morals. In fact, his entire life seems to be contrary to these, and yet he was elected to the highest office in American politics. I think this shows how different the early 1900s were from today.
In a 2002 interview about the movie, when Trump was asked what advice he would give Charles Foster Kane, he said, “Get a different woman”. It’s as if Trump thinks that Citizen Kane is a cautionary tale, not against the woes of acquisition, or the American tendency to always strive to gain more and more, but rather it seems to me that Trump interpretation is that the film cautions the acquisitioner to be careful about who he surrounds himself with, and to never waste his time and money on anyone who is not as invested in his brand as he is.
I think that one of the reasons that Citizen Kane is so widely lauded as the best movie ever is how well it has stood the test of time. It is set almost a century ago, and yet is so relevant today. The president of the United States of America, the most influential man around has undeniable similarities to Charles Foster Kane.
I don’t suppose anyone has ever had so many opinions. But he never believed in anything except Donald Trump. He never had a conviction except Donald Trump in his life.
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