President Ronald Reagan knew pop culture better than his Republican predecessors. He lived it.
The veteran actor worked in Hollywood for decades before leaving the soundstage to give speeches.
President Donald Trump has a similar advantage.
He embraced pop culture early and often in his real estate heyday. He worked the talk show circuit and appeared in TV shows and movies (“Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “The Little Rascals”) before breaking out with NBC’s “The Apprentice.”
Not all Republican politicians can say the same. And it often shows. Senator Ted Cruz is an exception to that rule.
Now, Trump is throwing his weight behind a powerful new documentary ignored by nearly every film critic in the country.
“Screams before silence,” available for free on their website and Youtube, allows survivors of the October 7 attacks to share their stories. It’s a harrowing experience that eschews graphic images in favor of raw testimony.
Not just critics reflexively ignore the movie, Hollywood has generally pretended it doesn’t exist. There are no starry testimonials demanding the public to take a look. There were no pleas from feminist stars pleading with the public to know what happened on that tragic day.
The documentary “Screams Before the Silence” is incredibly difficult to watch because, unfortunately, it graphically portrays the death and destruction that Hamas has unleashed. I urge people to support the documentary and watch it if you can. We demand that all hostages taken in Israel on October 7 and held in Gaza be released immediately, including eight Americans and citizens of more than twenty other countries, so that the war can come to an end.
This is not a typical movie recommendation.
The content of the film gives the lie to the pro-Palestinian protesters who are wreaking havoc across the country. Some of those protesters, such as Susan SarandonThey deny that Hamas raped countless women during the terrorist attack.
Others insisted just days after October 7 that Israel withdraw rather than retaliate for the most savage attack in modern history.
There is more.
The film has the power to change people’s minds about the current war between Israel and Hamas. Even those alarmed by the rise in civilian casualties in Gaza might change their minds after watching “Screams.”
Trump may see a political advantage in promoting “Screams Before Silence.” True? False? Either way, it’s the right thing to do.