Is it surprising that Donald Trump would be clueless enough to think that Christian Bale, already a famous actor when they met, was really Bruce Wayne? When The Dark Knight Rises was filming in Trump Tower, the now president invited Bale up to his office to meet him. As Bale recounts it, Trump talked to him as if he were actually Bruce Wayne … the fictional head of the Wayne Enterprises and, you know, Batman:
“I think he thought I was Bruce Wayne because I was dressed as Bruce Wayne. So he talked to me like I was Bruce Wayne and I just went along with it, really. It was quite entertaining. I had no idea at the time that he would think about running for president.”
While funny, I want to stop and unpack this, because there’s a couple of things here that either mean Bale is exaggerating for our comedic benefit, or … Trump’s grip on reality is even more tenuous than we thought. 1. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne is never really the Bruce Wayne we know and love and so if it was, in fact, that version of the character, the president sure is interested in some weird businessmen (shocking), and 2. Seriously? They were filming a movie in his building and his first instinct is that this actor coming to meet him is really a rich businessman who just acts on the side?
Granted, I’m aware that our president isn’t the brightest bulb in the world, but what even is this story? What was Trump told about the filming of The Dark Knight Rises, in his own building, for him to think that Bruce Wayne was real? Or did he just think they cast a real businessman in the role in the same way he was cast in Home Alone 2, and he’d have an opportunity to shoot the shit with another rich guy who will do anything to get his image and name out there?
Or does he just think Batman is real, too?
I have so many questions, and I just want to know … how? In what world does this man live? Does he not watch movies? We know he’s glued to his television set 24 hours a day, but I guess I really thought that was too much Fox News for one person to take, and he had to watch something else from time to time.
Maybe he watched American Psycho one time and just thought, “That guy right there knows how to make a deal,” and just assumed that this new movie again featured that same young tycoon?
Or does he just really love Batman, and he saw a prime opportunity to do some LARPing, never letting Bale in on what was going on for the benefit of his own immersion? Truly, we may never know.
Whatever the case may be, I’m absolutely fascinated by this story. I hope someone explains how normal movies work to the president soon, because he’s probably very confused by the war in the stars that took place a really long time ago. No wonder he tried to create a Space Force.
(image: Warner Bros.)
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