Trump Card (2020 film)

Trump Card is a 2020 American political documentary film produced, co-written, and co-directed by right-wing political commentator, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist Dinesh D'Souza. The film focuses on "the corruption and gangsterization of socialism in the Democratic Party as embodied by the two remaining presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden."[2] It was originally scheduled to be theatrically released on August 7, 2020, but was later delayed to a digital distribution on October 9, 2020.

Trump Card
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Dinesh D'Souza
  • Debbie D'Souza
  • Bruce Schooley
Based onThe United States of Socialism
by Dinesh D'Souza
Produced byDinesh D'Souza
StarringDinesh D'Souza
Narrated byDinesh D'Souza
Edited byHarvey Cohen
Music byBryan E. Miller
Production
company
D'Souza Media
Distributed byCloudburst Entertainment
Release date
  • October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)
Running time
106 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Premise

D'Souza described the film as "an exposé of the socialism, corruption and gangsterization that now define the Democratic Party. Whether it is the creeping socialism of Joe Biden or the overt socialism of Bernie Sanders, the film reveals what is unique about modern socialism, who is behind it, why he says it's evil, and how we can work together with President Trump to stop it."[2]

Release

The film was initially set to be released by Cloudburst Entertainment in the United States on August 7, 2020, two weeks before the 2020 Republican National Convention.[2] It was later delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic keeping most domestic theaters closed, and was rescheduled for a digital release sometime in September.[3][4] D'Souza later announced the film would be made available via DVD and video-on-demand on October 9, 2020.[5]

Reception

VOD rentals

In its debut weekend, Trump Card was the top-rented film on Apple TV and Google Play and second on FandangoNow.[6] In its second weekend, it remained first at Google Play, while finishing second at Apple TV and third on Fandango.[7] By its third week it placed fifth at Fandango, second at GooglePlay, and eighth at Apple TV.[8]

Critical response

Writing for The A.V. Club, Vadim Rizov gave the film a grade of "F", saying: "By this point, D'Souza is unconvincingly frothing on the soundtrack about how 'the socialist left and the Democrats want to make us grovel' and 'make us worms,' but the whole premise is, predictably, a radical, cynical misunderstanding of Orwell."[9] Mike McGranaghan of The Aisle Seat gave the film one out of four stars and wrote: "D'Souza is merely preaching to the choir. Any possibility of convincing moderate or liberal viewers is pretty much zero, thanks to unreliable commentators and manipulation of basic facts."[10]

Hunter Biden controversy
Main article: Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

A centerpiece of the film is the promotion of theories involving Joe Biden's son, Hunter, and the idea that he was involved in illegal activity while his father was Vice President.[11] One example is when D'Souza describes the idea of impropriety in regard to a supposed payment of $3.5 million to Hunter Biden from the wife of the mayor of Moscow. This accusation, referenced repeatedly by Donald Trump in the first 2020 presidential election debate, has not been substantiated.[12][13]

The accusation of impropriety with Moscow, before the release of Trump Card, came to prominence through an investigation of the Biden family by Senate Republicans. Though the Senate report argued a possibility of criminal activity,[14] and was attacked as politically motivated and flawed by figures including Mitt Romney,[15][16] no concrete criminal evidence manifested against Hunter Biden or his father.[17]

References
  1. "Trump Card Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  2. Brian Welk (March 16, 2020). "Dinesh D'Souza's 'Trump Card' Due Out This August in Time for GOP Convention". Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  3. "Trump Card (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  4. Stephanie Dube Dwilson (August 7, 2020). "D'Souza's 'Trump Card' Movie's Release Date Delayed Until September". Heavy.com. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  5. @DineshDSouza (August 20, 2020). "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: My new film "Trump Card" will be available on demand October 9. Also on DVD. This way every American can see it. Here's the official trailer. Enjoy and please share!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
  6. Brueggemann, Tom (October 12, 2020). "Pricey 'Mulan' Still Near Top of Streaming Charts, Along with 'Ava' and 'Trump Card'". IndieWire. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  7. Brueggemann, Tom (October 19, 2020). "Paramount Takes 'Love and Monsters' to PVOD and It's a Hit". IndieWire. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  8. Brueggemann, Tom (October 26, 2020). "'After We Collided' Is a Smash with Small Pricetag, While 'Unhinged' Makes Its PVOD Debut". IndieWire. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  9. Rizov, Radim (October 9, 2020). "Dinesh D'Souza Distorts and Fulfills George Orwell's Warnings in His Worthless Trump Card". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  10. McGranaghan, Mike (October 9, 2020). "Trump Card Review". The Aisle Seat. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  11. Bond, Paul (October 5, 2020). "Dinesh D'Souza's "Trump Card" explores Hunter Biden, socialism". Newsweek. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  12. Brewster, Jack (September 30, 2020). "Trump Repeatedly Raised Hunter Biden's Alleged $3.5 Million Payment From A Russian Billionaire—Here's What That Is". Forbes. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  13. Stanglin, Doug (October 1, 2020). "Fact check: Claims that Hunter Biden received $3.5M from Russia are unproven, lack context". USA Today. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  14. Naham, Matt (September 23, 2020). "Republican Report on Hunter Biden Alleges Human Trafficking Link". Law & Crime. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  15. Bobic, Igor (September 16, 2020). "Mitt Romney Slams Ron Johnson's Probe Into Hunter Biden". HuffPost. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  16. Ross, Jamie; Brodey, Sam (September 23, 2020). "Senate Republicans Release Hunter Biden Hatchet Job Weeks From Election Day". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  17. McGuill, Dan (September 29, 2020). "The Republican Senate Report on Hunter Biden, Explained". Snopes. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
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