Trump Mocks ‘Parasite’ and Brad Pitt Oscar Wins at Rally: ‘Can We Get ‘Gone With the Wind’ Back Please?’
During an ongoing Thursday campaign rally in Colorado Springs, President Donald Trump used his global platform to take aim at this year’s Best Picture Academy Award winner, “Parasite.”
“How bad were the Academy Awards this year?” he asked the crowd, as reported by Variety. Thousands are said to be in attendance at the Colorado event, with many lining up in a parking lot at the Broadmoor World Arena more than 24 hours ago to get the best seats in the house for Trump’s rally.
“Did you see it?” he asked the crowd of Bong Joon Ho’s universally acclaimed thriller. “The winner is… a movie from South Korea! What the hell was that all about?…We got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give him best movie of the year? Was it good? I don’t know.”
While Trump admitted to not seeing the movie, he did, at the rally, express nostalgia for a different time at the Oscars, referencing a certain 1939 epic that has since undergone much reappraisal due to its dated racial politics. “Let’s get ‘Gone With the Wind.’ Can we get ‘Gone With the Wind’ back, please?” “Gone With the Wind” swept eight Oscar wins in 1940, including Best Picture.
“I thought it was best foreign film, right? Best foreign movie…Did this ever happen before?” Trump said. Not quite. “Parasite” made history at the Oscars on February 9, becoming not only the first foreign film to win Best Picture, but also the first South Korean film to have any Oscar winner at all. “Parasite” took home four, including Picture, Original Screenplay, Director, and International Film.
North American “Parasite” distributor Neon tweeted in response to Trump’s attack, “Understandable, he can’t read.”
In his rally, Trump also took a shot at Brad Pitt, the Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Trump said he was “never a fan” of the revered actor, before going on to say that Pitt “got up and said little wise-guy statements … He’s a little wiseguy.” That’s a reference to Pitt’s political crack during his Oscars speech, where the actor said, “They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week. I’m thinking maybe Quentin [Tarantino] does a movie about it — in the end, the adults do the right thing.”
