Wajeeh Ullah 

Being a cinephile has broadened my horizons on different aspects of human life and enriched my worldview. I recently watched “The Apprentice” staring  Sebastian stan and Jeremy strong as Donald Trump and Roy Cohn respectively. The film is a directorial marvel by Iranian Director Ali Abbasi.

The movie covers Donald J. Trump's early business life and his intricate relationship with New York-based Attorney Roy Cohn, who was fierce, brutal, cunning, and the best in his profession. Trump met Cohn at a party and was impressed by his sharpness and wit. He requested that Cohn represent him as his Attorney in an ongoing suit filed by the New York Justice Department against his apartment. Roy Cohn maneuvered everything using unethical means and won the case.

This marked the beginning of the longstanding relationship between a real estate developer and an attorney known not to be morally upright, but who was fearsome in defending his client. Cohn identified Trump’s killer instinct shortly after they met and trained him to be a predator. He taught him the three golden rules of survival, which were:

1. Attack, Attack, and Attack

2. Deny Everything, Admit Nothing

3. Always Claim Victory, Never Admit Defeat.

Cohn once said, “If people screw me, I screw them  back in spades.” It was the teaching he gave to young Trump.

If one look closely at the Trumpian political playbook, it becomes clear that  every move  is carried out  according to these three rules. From targeting immigrants, imposing tariffs, denying election results, mocking the  US Judiciary, and hardening  diplomatic relations with allies - they bear the element of aggression. This aggression shows his attack, attack, and attack strategy.

Alongside that, Donald Trump never admitted defeat. He faced sexual scandals, business downfalls, political scrutiny, legal battles and public mockery – yet still managed to get re-elected as President of the United States. This wasn’t possible without having rugged mental endurance and a will to fight back. It was also an extension of Trump’s mindset, which was also depicted in his business dealings.

Finally, his playbook is incomplete without mentioning the principle of Admitting nothing and denying everything. If one analyses Trump over the years, one will notice that he denied established, plausible facts on many occasions. For example, he always rejected running for a public office, but it turned out at the end of the Obama administration. Alongside that, Trump never admitted defeat in the 2020 Presidential elections; instead, he tried to meddle with the election result by calling a Georgia state election official. Trump also never officially embraced COVID-19 as a natural phenomenon or a global pandemic; instead, he always called it a “Chinese virus” and proclaimed it was a Chinese laboratory project. 

To sum up, I would urge every student to watch “The Apprentice”. It received an 8-minute standing ovation at the prestigious Cannes film festival due to its brilliance in storytelling and objective unbiased.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of The Himalayan Research Institute Pakistan - (THRIP)

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Wajeeh Ullah is a student of BS Political Science at Government College University Lahore.