Maybe No One Wants To See 'The Apprentice,' Actually

TORONTO — Donald Trump trying to put a gag order on incendiary stories about him isn’t exactly breaking news. The former president and the truth have never been allies.

Take, for instance, Trump’s presidential debate on Tuesday against Vice President Kamala Harris, when he claimedhe is not involved with the much-maligned Project 2025, despite information to the contrary. Or the many times Trump has denied that he sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carrollin 1996, despite a 2023 jury finding him liablefor sexually abusing and defaming her.

So, it should have shocked no one when it was reported a few months ago that Trump had initiated a cease-and-desist action against “ The Apprentice ,” director Ali Abbasi’s fictionalized drama based on Trump’s 1980s relationship with his infamous lawyer, the late Roy Cohn.

It is funny, because without having actually watched the movie — and there has been no evidence that Trump has — why would he be concerned with a story about his relationship with his lawyer unless it carries unsavory information about him that he doesn’t want the public to be reminded of in the midst of his latest presidential run?

Well, that is actually the case with “The Apprentice,” which, based on Trump’s response to its existence, may bear some semblance to reality.

The film depicts Trump (Sebastian Stan) raping his then-wife Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova), having liposuction and scalp reduction surgery, engaging in tax evasion, redlining his apartment buildings, and turning his back on his addict brother Fred (Charlie Carrick) soon before Fred’s death in 1981. In addition, the film contains scenes of infidelity and fraudulent spending and portrays Trump as an unaffectionate father who becomes a grade-A jerk to