The Accidental President
Seeing it five months removed from the inauguration of Joe Biden, and the end of the presidency of Donald Trump, “The Accidental President” feels automatically dated. It’s only in the last few minutes of James Fletcher’s film where some of his interview subjects state why a film like this matters now, and its ultimate purpose- to show not just how, but why Trump was elected. For much of its 106-minute running time, “The Accidental President” feels redundant, and seems to fall into the same trap the media did in covering Trump’s unlikely 2016 Presidential campaign- covering the sideshow, but not really asking some of the key questions as to “why.”
My disdain for Trump is well-documented on social media. Apart from political differences, I just never was the audience for his race-baiting rhetoric or his vulgar persona. It is, however, fascinating that he managed to do the impossible and get elected, however, and shock people on both sides of the aisle. That’s worth considering so that politicians can study what happened, and attempt to channel the feelings of middle class anger he ultimately was able to tap into, minus the horrifying racism. Of course, Bernie Sanders already did, but Democratic voters en masse were not ready for it in 2016.
There are plenty of talking heads throughout “The Accidental President.” Political pundits like Van Jones and Frank Luntz; reporters like Mary Katharine Ham and Amy Chozick; Trump insiders like Kellyanne Conway and Anthony Scaramucci; and others like Steve Schmidt, Aaron Sorkin and Jerry Springer all appear to give their recollections of watching things unfold, what they noticed, and thoughts about how Trump won. There’s a lot of truth here- Trump was able to manipulate the media into his domination of the news cycle (something that happened every time he would say or do something inflammatory, and Trump saw the anger of the white middle class, and appealed to it in a way not dissimilarly as Sanders, but without being able to be labeled a socialist. One thing I wish the film did explore more was how he was able to railroad evangelical darlings like Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum and appeal to them, despite his own moral failings, but there’s already a terrific documentary called “In Trump We Trust” that is well worth watching in that department. What Fletcher is exploring is worth considering, and he does it well. To a certain extent, “The Accidental President” feels like “too little too late,” and more something that should be essential for the media than regular audiences. It’s worth watching, however.
