Donald Trump Tweets Video Of Himself Superimposed Over Bill Pullman During Famous ‘Independence Day’ Speech
On Saturday, President Donald Trump shared a video on Twitter featuring his own likeness and that of some notable GOP supporters and allies superimposed over characters during a famous scene from the 1996 sci-fi film Independence Day.
In the original scene, fictional American President Thomas J. Whitmore, as portrayed by Bill Pullman, delivered a rousing speech before a final battle between humans and an invading alien force that threatened to conquer and/or destroy the planet Earth. The battle took place on July 4 in the film, hence its title.
Pullman’s speech is featured almost in its entirety over the course of a 90-second clip, with Trump’s face edited over the actor’s. Meanwhile, several notable Republican figures were edited into the crowd, including Fox News hosts and conservative commentators Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.
With orchestral music swelling in the background and a raucous crowd cheering on, the speech delves into themes including unification for the common good and the defense of freedom.
“Should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: ‘We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!'”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2020
The parody video was originally the work of Twitter user @Mad_Liberals, who Trump credited with a tag in his own tweet. Their account, which has more than 100,000 followers, is known for creating memes dedicated to Trump and other prominent members of the Republican Party.
In their account bio, @Mad_Liberals identifies themselves as a “video manipulator” from “Trump County, Florida.”
The original video was posted to the account on April 14. Meanwhile, Trump’s more recent tweet achieved viral status — well beyond that of the original — notching over 135,000 likes, as well as tens of thousands of replies and retweets at the time of this report.
Commentary on the tweet has hit both ends of the political spectrum, with some users expressing their support for Trump and the video, while others offered stern criticism.
“Best President of my lifetime. Who is with me?!” opined one commenter.
“The LAME STREAM media is going to be TRIGGERED by this tweet – a LOT!” wrote another.
Meanwhile, political commentator Edward Hardy tweeted, “In Independence Day, President Thomas J. Whitmore was a former fighter pilot and a Gulf War veteran. Donald Trump is a cowardly draft dodger.”
While Trump has seemingly likened himself to Pullman’s character in terms of inspiring the masses with his words in the video, many continue to criticize the president for his actual choice of words. As reported by The Inquisitr, Trump was taken to task recently for referring to a rumored new weapon as a “super duper” missile.
