Top 10 Things The Apprentice Got Factually Right and Wrong

WatchMojo

In the words of Donald Trump himself, this biopic is going to be "hugeee." Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the things that the 2024 Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” nailed — and what’s “fake news.”

Transcript

00:00You'll pay me back with your friendship, okay, quid pro quo, you'll be a friend to

00:05me, I'll be a friend to you, okay, that's the pact, okay?"

00:10Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the things that the 2024

00:15Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice nailed, and what's fake news.

00:19This probably goes without saying, but a major spoiler warning for The Apprentice is now

00:23in effect.

00:2410.

00:31Donald Trump and Roy Cohn used blackmail to build a Hyatt.

00:34Wrong.

00:35Per Apprentice screenwriter Gabriel Sherman in an Entertainment Weekly interview, quote

00:44"...everything in the movie that seems the most shocking is actually completely based

00:48on real events."

00:50Sherman further claimed that quote "...very little has been dramatized."

00:53As depicted in The Apprentice, Trump and mentor

01:03Cohn scored an early career victory for the former by securing a contract to build the

01:07Grand Hyatt Hotel in 1978.

01:10However, no evidence exists to suggest that Cohn used illicit recordings to blackmail

01:15a city official.

01:16Sherman, a former reporter who covered Trump extensively, pointed out that Cohn was notorious

01:22for using dirty tricks, such as unauthorized surveillance, to win at all costs.

01:299.

01:35Roy Cohn was a closeted gay man.

01:38Right.

01:39Cohn, who first rose to prominence as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel in his

01:52quest to root out communists, bore more than a few secrets of his own.

01:56Perhaps his worst kept was his identity as a gay man, which he denied throughout his

02:00life despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.

02:07The Apprentice pulls no punches in its uncompromising depiction of Cohn's life, particularly the

02:12drug and sex-fueled parties that the controversial prosecutor was known for.

02:16In one eyebrow-raising scene, Trump attends such a party at Cohn's house and discovers

02:21the lawyer engaged in an intimate encounter.

02:23These parties were actually held at the famous Studio 54, and there's no proof of Trump walking

02:29in on Cohn in a compromising situation.

02:318.

02:35Trump and Cohn publicly feuded.

02:37Wrong.

02:38Cohn's 1984 AIDS diagnosis put a decisive end to his hard-partying ways.

02:48However, the pervasive stigma and misinformation surrounding the disease at the time cast

02:53a looming shadow over his and future President Trump's relationship.

03:00While a scene in The Apprentice depicts Cohn and Trump hashing it out, this does not appear

03:05to have been the case in reality.

03:07Instead, the duo's long friendship apparently fizzled out over time, and was made clear

03:11by Trump's general unwillingness to stand by Cohn in the latter's final years.

03:16Cohn, who died destitute and in substantial debt, reportedly expressed disappointment

03:20in his mentee's cold-shoulder treatment.

03:23You're over-leveraged and have debt up to your ears.

03:25I know what I'm talking about.

03:277.

03:28Cohn's lover Russell.

03:29Right.

03:30Excuse me.

03:31I'm Russell.

03:34My friend wants to know if you'd join us for dinner.

03:37Russell Eldridge, as played by Ben Sullivan in The Apprentice, was indeed a real person

03:41who was involved with the closeted Roy Cohn.

03:44The broad strokes of Russell's depiction in director Ali Abbasi's film appear to be

03:48accurate.

03:49As described by journalist David L. Marcus, also Cohn's cousin, Cohn claimed that Eldridge

03:54was his secretary.

03:55He's a long-time member.

03:56He wants to congratulate you on passing the selection committee.

04:01Abbasi's film portrays Cohn as asking Trump to put Eldridge up in the Barbizon Plaza hotel,

04:06now Trump Park, to which Trump reluctantly obliges.

04:09This followed Eldridge's AIDS diagnosis.

04:12Russell would eventually die of the disease.

04:15However, it is unclear as to whether or not the future president sought to it that Eldridge

04:19was removed from the premises, or if the incident occurred at all.

04:23Well, hello there.

04:24How's it going?

04:25How are you?

04:26I'm fine, thank you.

04:27Have a seat.

04:30We're not gonna bite.

04:326.

04:34Fred Trump Jr. was disowned by his family.

04:37Right.

04:38I had a great brother who taught me a lesson.

04:40Don't drink.

04:42And he said, don't smoke.

04:43He smoked and he drank.

04:44And he was a great guy.

04:46He was a handsome, very handsome guy.

04:49As depicted in The Apprentice, Donald Trump's older brother Fred was something of a black

04:53sheep within the Trump family.

04:54Fred, who faced significant struggles with alcohol use disorder later in life, was essentially

04:59given up on by Fred Sr. for his perceived rebellion.

05:03This rebellion consisted of shirking the family real estate business entirely to pursue his

05:07dream of becoming an airline pilot.

05:08Did you admire him?

05:09Yeah, I admired him a lot.

05:11So much about him.

05:12He had so much going.

05:13He had the look.

05:14He had an unbelievable personality, like an incredible personality.

05:20Enraged, Fred Sr. constantly mocked Fred Jr.

05:23According to the latter's daughter, Mary, Fred's father, quote, dismantled him by devaluing

05:28and degrading every aspect of his personality.

05:31It has been speculated that Fred Jr.'s substance use was spurred on by this torment.

05:35Tragically, his alcohol use would be his undoing.

05:38Fred Jr. died in 1981, aged only 42.

05:42I was amazed that his body could hold out.

05:44It held out and it had bad moments.

05:48But his body was unbelievably strong that it could withstand this.

05:52Number 5.

05:53Trump was addicted to pills.

05:55Wrong.

05:56Listen, Judy, about 100 reporters were crawling up my ass to get this interview and I gave

06:00you the exclusive.

06:01The Apprentice depicts Donald Trump as turning to amphetamines as a way of dealing with his

06:05increasing responsibilities and rising public profile.

06:08If you choose to believe former President Trump himself, he has been a staunch teetotaler

06:13since 1976, with his older brother Fred Jr. as his main influence.

06:17Yes, hello, Judy, this is Donald Trump.

06:21Very excited, very excited to talk to you.

06:23Donald, now that the lawsuit is behind you, what do you want to do next?

06:26Said Trump, quote, every day he lectured me.

06:29Look at the mess I'm in.

06:30If I ever catch you smoking, you'll be sorry.

06:33Or drinking even a glass of booze because you like it too much.

06:36Freddie did a good job.

06:37While it is certainly possible that Trump isn't being totally forthcoming about his

06:40substance use or lack thereof, no credible evidence suggests this was ever the case.

06:45Where do you get the drive?

06:46You're still so young, Donald.

06:47I got flair and I'm smart, so I think that's going to make me successful.

06:52But I also want to stay humble.

06:54Number 4.

06:55Fred Trump denied housing to black tenants.

06:57Right.

06:58You know, I should have talked to dad before announcing the Commodore.

07:02He'll be convinced when he reads about it in the Times, OK?

07:05Well...

07:06You create your own reality.

07:07It's not that easy.

07:08Former President Trump's contentious relationship with his father, Fred Sr., is an important

07:12part of the former real estate tycoon's narrative and personal history.

07:15The Apprentice takes great care to incorporate this into the film's story, particularly with

07:20regard to the aforementioned Manhattan Hyatt.

07:22My dad is tough.

07:23Why?

07:24He's very tough.

07:25Well, that's why you gotta spread the news like it's already happening.

07:27No, we just, you can't push him around very easily.

07:29Fine.

07:30OK, fine.

07:31Then, uh...

07:33Early on in the film, Donald Trump's introduction to Roy Cohn is brought on by Cohn's offer

07:37to assist with Fred Sr.'s legal troubles, in which the federal government has accused

07:42the Trump patriarch of discriminating against black tenants.

07:45This is based, in fact, a federal investigation revealed that a building superintendent hired

07:50by Trump management had been instructed to specifically deny black tenants while welcoming

07:55white ones.

07:57The Trumps settled with the government to avoid having to admit to the accusations.

08:01How much is this?

08:03OK, that's...

08:04OK, we'll take it.

08:05And, uh, matching shirt and tie.

08:06Number 3.

08:07Trump gave Cohn knock-off cufflinks.

08:09Right.

08:10I don't need your money.

08:11You'll pay me back with your friendship, OK?

08:14Quid pro quo.

08:15You'll be a friend to me, I'll be a friend to you.

08:18OK?

08:19That's, uh, that's, that's, that's the pact.

08:21OK?

08:22In an Apprentice scene meant to signify the final straw in Trump and Cohn's rapidly

08:26deteriorating relationship, Trump's wife Ivana informs Cohn that a pair of diamond

08:30cufflinks, presented to Cohn as a gift, are fake.

08:34Nothing more than cheap knock-offs.

08:36If you look like a million bucks, I look like a million bucks.

08:40In fact, including the moment was Cohn actor Jeremy Strong's idea.

08:44Per Sherman, quote,

08:45Jeremy had done so much research into his character, and when we were doing script notes,

08:50he told me that great story that I'd remembered but hadn't included in the script about how

08:53Donald gifted Roy these fake diamond Tiffany cufflinks.

08:56However, the incident is likely fictionalized, as it's unlikely that Ivana would've broken

09:01the news to Cohn.

09:02Sorry, Roy.

09:03Uh, no.

09:04I mean, listen, it's your life.

09:05Uh, you got a ways to go, but, uh, you're learning.

09:09Number two.

09:10Trump got plastic surgery.

09:11Wrong.

09:12Look, forget the gift clause, all right?

09:14Roy got carried away.

09:15Listen, I'll give you, uh, $50,000 now, like a signing bonus.

09:19Admittedly, the answer to this question depends on whom you choose to believe.

09:24Former President Trump has personally denied any accusations of having gone under the knife.

09:28The Apprentice alleges that this was to combat his accelerating hair loss and weight gain.

09:33Ivana, please.

09:34Let's talk about this.

09:35Come on.

09:36Don't do this.

09:37Go find someone else, Donald.

09:38I'm not a traffic watch.

09:39You're gonna ruin your life if you don't marry me.

09:41Once again, according to Gabriel Sherman, Ivana Trump testified that her ex-husband

09:44Donald, quote,

09:45got liposuction, scalp removal surgery, and was also taking diet pills.

09:50So that scene really was something that was backed by the record.

09:54When Trump's fictional doctor suggests that the future president takes up diet and exercise,

09:58Donald brushes him off by claiming that human beings only have a finite amount of physical

10:02energy, which reflects actual claims he's made.

10:05Because I'm rich, I'm handsome, I have a great family, I'm gonna be the number one

10:09builder in New York.

10:10Listen to me.

10:11You're gonna have a life you can't even dream of, Ivana.

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10:29Number 1.

10:30Trump Assaulted Ivana Inconclusive

10:38In what is perhaps The Apprentice's most shocking scene, Donald Trump is shown as assaulting

10:43his ex-wife Ivana in response to what he interprets as an attack on his libido.

10:48While the real Ivana did indeed state in a 1990 divorce deposition that this occurred,

10:53the circumstances were not exactly as depicted in Abbasi's film.

10:57Citing Ivana's deposition, Gabrielle Sherman explained that her then-husband, quote, was

11:01recovering from his scalp surgery and was having these debilitating headaches, and he

11:06flew into a rage and threw her down on the bed and pulled out her hair and assaulted

11:10her.

11:11Over the years, though, Ivana backtracked on this accusation and, toward the end of

11:14her life, maintained that she and Trump had remained close following their divorce.

11:19I wanna have children with you.

11:21I want us to grow old together.

11:23Which part of director Ali Abbasi's The Apprentice shocked you the most?

11:26Let us know.

11:27We have a brand new campaign slogan.

11:29Let's make America great again.

11:31Hmm.

11:32Oh, I like the again part.

11:35Did you enjoy this video?

11:36Check out these other clips from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell

11:40to be notified about our latest videos.

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