In a commercial promoting an upcoming showing of the movie Olympus Has Fallen, centered around the plot of North Korean terrorists violently seizing control of the White House and holding the President of the United States hostage, cable channel TBS edited clips of the film to make it seem like fictitious national security officials were relieved and thrilled by that prospect. A not-so-subtle reference to the current occupant of the Oval Office, Donald Trump.
The promo began with one of the terrorists telling the Speaker of the House, played by Morgan Freeman, and a room of various other actors playing the roles of military commanders and intelligence officials: “I have your commander-in-chief.” A general asks: “Who are you?” The terrorist replies: “I am the man in control of your White House.”
The words appear on screen: “What if the president was no longer in control.” After a long pause, the room of worried leaders erupts into sighs of relief, applause, and cheering. One actress could be heard declaring: “Finally some good news.”
Cutting back to the terrorists talking in Korean, a phony subtitle appeared: “Why are they so happy?”
Such a gratuitous slam of Trump shouldn’t surprise viewers, given that this is the same channel that puts left-wing bomb thrower Samantha Bee on the air.
