If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck, don’t try to tell tell Whoopi it’s a duck.
On June 13, 2017, The View host Whoopi Goldberg claimed the connections between the main character of Shakespeare in the Park’s Julius Caesar and Donald Trump were dubious.
Implying the only likenesses between the Shakespeare in the Park production’s main character and Trump were the fact that both were white, wore red ties, and had blond hair, Goldberg proceeded to claim that the play was simply a contemporary representation of Shakespeare’s classic – nothing more. According to Goldberg, “some bonehead on Fox” was reading too much into the matter, mistaking simple Shakespeare for political satire. After all, theater often “contemporizes” productions, host Sunny Hostin weighed in – and indeed, “they always do that.” “This is not the story of Donald Trump,” host Jedediah Bila agreed.
Yet media on both sides of the isle are unanimous on the unmistakably satirical nature of the play. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck, the connection is undoubtable: “director Oskar Eustis has said he conceived of [the play] on Election Night.” Scheck also noted that Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia “speaks in a Slavic accent,” and that one of the assassination conspirators wraps himself in a “Resist” banner. National Review writer Kevin D. Williamson called this particular rendition of Caesar “a Trump-like Roman tyrant.” And of course, in her June 7, 2017 Fox News article, Stacey Delikat wrote: “It’s just concerning we’re seeing more and more violent rhetoric towards our president in the form of the arts and Hollywood.”
The hosts also heavily critiqued Donald Trump, Jr. for allegedly “not knowing the play,” following his tweet on the matter: “I wonder how much of this ‘art’ is funded by taxpayers?” While Goldberg claimed the play received no public funds, the City of New York is still funding the controversial production – even after other donors have pulled out.
Perhaps The View hosts should “do their homework” before trying to “undermine stuff,” as Whoopi Goldberg suggested.
