We don’t really know if what David Lynch said yesterday about Donald Trump was actually “praise” or really just Lynch being Lynch and assessing a situation with a very different set of eyes, which he’s known to have. If you’re confused as to why Trump and Lynch are even mentioned in the same sentence, the gist of the story goes like this — Lynch was interviewed by The Guardian and asked about Donald Trump, to which, surprisingly, Lynch didn’t really have negative things to say, even vowing that Trump “could go down as one of the greatest presidents in history because he has disrupted the thing so much.”
And look, even though that quote has been used in every headline about the article (yes, we did it too…), it doesn’t tell the whole story. The truth is that Lynch definitely did say that Trump could be one of the greatest presidents of all-time, but the source clearly states that he doesn’t agree with Trump’s politics and, in fact, voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary (a known disruptor on the other side) and eventually Libertarian for president. That being said, Trump, the opportunist that he is, pounced on the news in a tweet and eventually at a rally.
Trump has taken Lynch’s comments as a compliment and not only retweeted a Breitbart article having to do with Lynch’s praise, but also found the time to mention him at a rally in South Carolina. Trump said that because Lynch said such positive things about him that the 72-year-old’s “career in Hollywood is over.” Funny.
This odd connection between the President of the United States and, of all people, David Lynch is such a puzzling affair that one has to actually wonder if we are living in one of the director’s creepy nightmares. And yet here we are, discussing Trump and Lynch in the same sentence and ultimately, why Lynch’s comments were problematic, to say the least.
What we didn’t talk about yesterday, and what seems to be left out of most of the reporting, is the context of Lynch’s statement, as well as the actual implications he made. Let’s not forget that David Lynch has lived in the Hollywood bubble for decades, and even though he’s about as eccentric as any filmmaker, he’s still a very privileged person, who is definitely out of touch with what’s going on for the average American in 2018.
And as we alluded to in yesterday’s report, “disruption” is not always a great idea. In theory, if you’re upset with how politics are being handled, it makes sense for a disruption to look like the ideal option. However, recent history (as recent as the child separation issues at the border and Trump’s petty squabble with a small restaurant in Virginia) has shown that Trump’s brand of disruption does little more than polarize a nation and cause more pain and suffering for regular people. But, again, if you are a filmmaker that hasn’t had to worry much about trying to support your family while working multiple low-paying jobs or wondering if you will be judged, disrespected, or even killed because of your race, then it’s easy to see “disruption” as a great idea. That doesn’t even cover the fact that large political disruptions haven’t gone so well in the last century, as Europe in the mid-1940s can attest to. But I digress.
Suffice to say, the only way this Lynchian nightmare can be fixed is by David Lynch himself, in his words, hopefully soon. Otherwise, does anyone know the best way to destroy Blu-rays? Asking for a friend.
“Director David Lynch: Trump Could Go Down as One of the Greatest Presidents” https://t.co/AcgnIZNh6e
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018
Take a hike you twit – Lynch is entitled to say whatever the hell he wants. And I can’t help but feel he’s right. Your judgement stinks! Is this a film news website or a political partisanship for millenials to rant their views?
Like the man on that cop show says in ‘L.A Confidential’ – Just the facts. Just the facts.
“you provide the prose poems, I’ll provide the war. ”
That’s from a movie you folks should see some time.
“We don’t really know” – we DO know, because we read what followed that quote. And you did, too, as you actually go on and quote the whole phrase of his, about disrupting the whole thing of being a President; why on Earth would anyone think THAT was meant as praise?
I’m not American, but as an outside observer when it comes to politics or different opinions to your own, many of you act like triggered petulant children, this article is a classic example.
David Lynch doesn’t need to explain or ‘fix’ anything, he’s free to share his comments without the need of appeasing blinkered ‘journalists’ who don’t happen to agree.
The suggestion of destroying his movies because you don’t agree, makes you look like a brat throwing a tantrum.
Those last two paragraphs were pathetic. I like this site because of the news session but its political agenda is a joke.
There is nothing problematic with what Lynch said. Who is Jordan Ruimy to tell people how to feel about a comment that, in full, speaks for itself.