The Movie Donald Trump Didn’t Want You to See Is Quietly Streaming for Free

There have been a lot of biopics over the years that have given us great insight into the lives of past US presidents, with some being more successful than others. Lincoln, W., and Nixon are just a few good ones that come to mind, as does a surprisingly well-made 2024 film that current president, Donald Trump, didn’t want anybody to see. Too bad for him that it’s currently streaming for free on Tubi.

Titled The Apprentice, the biographical drama stars Sebastian Stan as a young Trump when he was an up-and-coming New York real estate mogul in the ’70s and ’80s, and examines his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Directed by Ali Abbasi (The Last of Us) and written by Gabriel Sherman, The Apprentice is an unflinching look at the early days of Trump, depicting him as a flawed, insecure, and callous individual who values ambition and appearances over morality.

Also starring Martin Donovan as Trump’s father, Fred, Catherine McNally as his mother, Mary Anne Trump, and Maria Bakalova as Trump’s first wife, Ivana, The Apprentice made its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the coveted Palme d’Or (it lost to Anora). Despite being a box office flop that barely made back its budget, the movie was well-received by critics and viewers. It holds a “Certified Fresh” rating of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Popcornmeter score of 84%. Called a film that “captures the essence of Donald Trump” by MovieWeb‘s own, Britt Hayes, she further wrote in her review:

“Abbasi and Sherman may not be able to locate the human side of Trump (if there is one; it’s distressing to think that these inhuman qualities actually make him exceedingly human), but they have effectively captured the intangible essence of Trump as a public figure. More impressively, The Apprentice pulls off the great magic trick of evoking a specific feeling through the alchemy of cinema.”

Donald Trump and His Team Tried to Block ‘The Apprentice’ From Being Seen

Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan in ‘The Apprentice’

Briarcliff Entertainment

Seeing as how The Apprentice portrays Trump in a less-than-favorable light, it’s no surprise that he and his cohorts tried to have the movie blocked from ever being seen. His attorneys sent cease-and-desist letters to the filmmakers seeking to block “all marketing, distribution, and publication” of the film, and Trump’s own chief spokesperson, Steven Cheung, called The Apprentice “garbage” in a statement to Variety in 2024 that also threatened legal action:

“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked. As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.”

For his part, Trump himself called The Apprentice “fake,” “defamatory,” and “malicious” in various statements, but it should be noted that no actual lawsuits were ever filed in regard to the movie. It was all just empty threats and a lot of nothing, which — again — comes as no surprise seeing as how, if any legal action were taken, the filmmakers could have demanded a whole heap of information during discovery, including evidence contradicting the film’s claims, none of which could be provided.

Is The Apprentice the best movie ever about the early days of an American president? No, but it’s definitely entertaining and, at times, a hard-to-watch film about a cruel and self-mythologizing narcissist who cares about no one but himself. If you want to check it out for yourself, The Apprentice is now streaming for free on Tubi.