Josh Brolin has spoken openly about his past friendship with Donald Trump and how his view of the US President has shifted over time. The actor discussed their early connection, Trump’s political ambitions, and public perception.
Josh Brolin talks about Donald Trump friendship
Josh Brolin, currently promoting his upcoming film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, recently opened up about his history with Donald Trump. The two first connected after sharing screen time in Oliver Stone’s 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, during an era when Trump was primarily a New York real estate magnate and television personality. That association blossomed into a genuine friendship, giving Brolin a front-row seat to Trump’s world long before his presidency.
Now, Brolin views his old friend through a different lens. He described Trump’s current trajectory as “power unmitigated” and “unregulated,” a stark contrast to the businessman he once knew. While he acknowledged likely “corruption” in Trump’s past business dealings, Brolin also expressed a specific fascination with Trump’s audacious decision to develop a luxury hotel in what he called the “cesspool city” of 1970s New York. “That’s interesting to me,” the actor told The Independent.
Central to Josh Brolin’s commentary is his blunt assessment of Donald Trump’s potential run for a third term, which the president has frequently teased despite constitutional limitations. “I’m not scared of Trump, because even though he says he’s staying forever, it’s just not going to happen,” Brolin stated. He added, “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.”
Brolin pivoted to analyze Trump’s enduring appeal, which he attributes almost entirely to marketing rather than policy or personality. “There is no greater genius than him in marketing,” Brolin claimed. “He takes the weakness of the general population and fills it. 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,” he added.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery premieres on Netflix on December 12.
