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?
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