It’s very likely that the nearly 60 percent of Americans who disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president would prefer that he had followed the “Sharknado” path to the White House.
Sometime before Trump decided to launch his 2016 run to become the real president of the United States, he seriously considered starring as a fictional POTUS for the schlocky 2015 film “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“The Donald said yes,” said David Latt, co-founder of the production company behind the Syfy flying fish franchise.
The made-for-TV movie “Sharknado” series always features a flood of pop culture and political cameos, along with its crew of D-listers. For the third installment, producers approached former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to play the president.
But negotiations fell through, so “Sharknado” star Ian Ziering reached out to Trump. Ziering, the former star of “Beverly Hills 90210,” had appeared as a contestant on Trump’s reality TV show “Celebrity Apprentice” and figured the real estate mogul would make a good commander in chief.
“He was thrilled to be asked,” Latt said of Trump.
While negotiations with Trump “got pretty far,” and a contract was drawn up, weeks went by and producers hadn’t heard from the real estate mogul.
“Donald’s thinking about making a legitimate run for the presidency, so we’ll get back to you,” Latt says Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, told him at the time.
Instead, the producers ended up offering the “Sharknado” role to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has become an outspoken critic of Trump’s presidency.
After the casting switchup, Latt says, “Then we immediately heard from Trump’s lawyer.”
“He basically said, ‘How dare you? Donald wanted to do this. We’re going to sue you! We’re going to shut the entire show down!’” Latt recalled.
Cohen denied ever threatening “Sharknado” producers. He told the Hollywood Reporter he had dinner with Ziering about casting Trump but he had “no recollection of the angry correspondence.”
If Trump didn’t make it into “Sharknado 3,” another controversial politician turned up. Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner had a small role, playing the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Trump should take heart. Being president doesn’t preclude him from still doing a cameo in a future Sharknado movie, especially if it might temporarily mollify his critics.
After all, Richard Nixon, another former president with likability issues, went the pop culture cameo route when he was the Republican candidate in 1968. To prove he wasn’t such a downer, he appeared on the series premiere of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” the sketch comedy series that became a monster hit. In the 5-second bit, a still dour looking Nixon invokes the show’s signature line and invites viewers to “Sock it to me.”
Meanwhile, “Sharknado 5: Global Swarming” premieres Sunday on Syfy.
Martha Ross is a Bay Area News Group columnist
