'Borat' Mastermind Tried Pranking Trump, But Donald Handled Him Like a Pro
One of the biggest surprises of 2020 was that Sacha Baron Cohen, the mastermind and actor behind fake Kazakhstani journalist Borat Sagdiyev, quietly made a movie about his most famous character under the cover of a global pandemic.
“Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm,” this year’s sequel to the original 2006 “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” put a number of famous people into awkward or compromising situations, including President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani.
While Cohen may have been able to trick Giuliani into an interview (though Giuliani didn’t fall for a subsequent sexual set-up), an attempt years earlier to fool Giuliani’s current boss failed miserably.
“I don’t know what happened,” Trump told reporters about the Giuliani scene, according to Deadline. “But years ago, you know, he tried to scam me.”
Cohen did attempt to trick Trump in 2003, more than a decade before the real estate mogul entered politics.
The comedian, playing fictitious British rapper Ali G, secured a sit-down with Trump 17 years ago under the guise of an on-camera interview. Although Cohen’s first few questions were ridiculous, Trump graciously humored them.
“How long has there been businesses?” Cohen asked in a heavy British chav accent
Trump explained that business has been with humans from “Day One,” and that even millennia ago, societies were conducting commerce with “rocks, and stones, and other things.”
Perhaps tipped off by the bizarre questions, Trump appeared to look around the room at Cohen’s crew before “Ali G” offered up a business idea.
“My idea is to come out with like ice cream gloves that makes the ice cream not go on your hands and make them all sticky, and also keep your hands warm when you is eating the ice cream,” Cohen said. “Is you in or is you in?”
Trump was unfazed, and quickly moved to end the fake interview.
“It sounds like a good idea, and I hope you make a lot of money,” the celebrity businessman said.
Trump looked around the room, said “good luck folks, it’s been nice seeing you,” and then stood up and walked out of the interview.
Watch the full Ali G skit where Cohen failed to fool Trump below.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
Against a provocateur like Cohen, it appears there’s no better defense than the one Trump made. Trump’s gracious but firm exit made almost no room for antics or escalation from “Ali G,” leaving the comedian with nothing more than a failed bit.
This shutdown of Cohen is just one of many reasons Trump won’t be fooled into appearing in a “Borat” film anytime soon.
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