Donald Trump jacked a monologue from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s latest film, Air — and they weren’t having it.
On Saturday, Trump’s campaign posted a video on his Truth social network that stole a monologue by Matt edited over scenes of Trump’s political reign, ending with a donation screen and the infamous “Make America Great Again” slogan, Deadline reported.
The monologue was Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, a Nike marketing executive, who described what it means to attain greatness. The biographical drama tells the story of NBA legend Michael Jordan and the creation of the “Air Jordan” sneaker campaign in the ’80s.
Unfortunately for Trump’s campaign, the director and star of the movie, Ben Affleck, and his costar Matt’s production company, Artists Equity, didn’t appreciate the use of their film’s message. They immediately issued a statement to condemn the video.
“We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to, and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use,” the statement began.
“Specifically in terms of any and all rights available to us under US copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from Air by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent.”
Maybe next time, Mr. Trump should get permission before putting himself in the same league as Michael Jordan.
