Josh Brolin reflected on his former friendship with Donald Trump, saying that it helps him understand how the president presents himself today.
In a new interview with The Independent, Brolin described the Trump he knew years ago, how their relationship faded, and why he believed Trump's influence still resonates with many Americans.
Brolin said he knew Trump long before he entered politics, and those early experiences influence how he views Trump's recent remarks about remaining in office.
"I'm not scared of Trump, because even though he says he's staying forever, it's just not going to happen," Brolin said. "And if it does, then I'll deal with that moment. But having been a friend of Trump before he was president, I know a different guy."
Trump has teased that he would consider a third term, despite the 22nd Amendment barring any president from serving more than two.
Brolin said he doesn't see those statements as especially serious, saying the man he once knew isn't the political figure he is now.
The two met after Brolin appeared in the 2010 film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."
At the time, Trump was still best known for his real estate ventures and television career.
Brolin told the outlet he saw Trump's early business choices as typical of New York in the late 1970s.
"I'm sure there was a lot of corruption involved," he said, referring to Trump's decision to build what he described as an expensive hotel "in the middle of a cesspool city during the late '70s."
"That's interesting to me," he said. "Now it's power unmitigated, it's unregulated."
Brolin said Trump's rise in politics is tied to skills he believes have strongly influenced Trump's supporters.
"There is no greater genius than him in marketing. He takes the weakness of the general population and fills it," he said. "And that's why I think a lot of people feel that they have a mascot in him.
"I think it's much less about Trump than it is about the general population and their need for validation."
Although Brolin once considered Trump a friend, he publicly distanced himself from Trump's 2020 reelection bid.
In an Instagram post from October 2020, he wrote: "I refuse to believe that Donald Trump is our core version of American masculinity." That message marked a clear break from any earlier connection the two shared.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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