The MaddowBlog-Trump's fixation on 'central casting' takes a still more ridiculous turn

[LetMyPeopleVote]

It’s as if the president sees himself as the executive producer of an elaborate spectacle.

Trump’s fixation on ‘central casting’ takes a still more ridiculous turn - MS NOW

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— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-02-03T20:58:46.799Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-fixation-on-central-casting-takes-a-still-more-ridiculous-turn

The comments reminded me of a Washington Post report published in October:

As President Donald Trump was addressing the Israeli Knesset on Monday, he pointed at Israel Defense Forces Chief Eyal Zamir and said, ‘You know, the guy’s central casting. Let’s put him in a movie. Look at him.’

A few minutes later, he was reminiscing with the Israeli lawmakers about meeting Gen. Dan Caine, now the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other military leaders. ‘Everybody was like central casting,’ Trump said.

Everyone has certain words and phrases they use as part of their everyday vocabulary, but Trump’s fixation on “central casting” seems more than a rhetorical tic — it’s a reflection of how he assesses those around him.

In 2018, for example, when Trump had to choose his second Supreme Court nominee, Politico quoted a White House insider who said, “Beyond the qualifications, what really matters is, does this nominee fit a central casting image for a Supreme Court nominee, as well as his or her spouse. That’s a big deal. Do they fit the role?”....

The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty told MS NOW after the 2016 election that “central casting” is “actually a phrase [Trump] uses quite a bit behind the scenes.”

A decade later, his preoccupation with how people present themselves has, if anything, intensified. It’s as if the president sees himself as the executive producer of an elaborate show — because, to a very real extent, that’s exactly how he perceives his role.

[Turbineguy]

1. He's around the twist.

His cheese done slid off his cracker.

[Haggard Celine]

2. He thinks he's still doing his reality show.

That’s what life is to him, a reality show. I don't think he knows the difference.

[PatSeg]

3. Yep, one big reality TV show

That is the way he sees life as if he is the writer, director, and star of a 24/7 TV show seen around the world. It is like The Apprentice never ended, it just moved to a much bigger stage.

I think he lost any grasp of reality a long time ago.

[Haggard Celine]

5. I think so too.

I hope if we survive this administration that Americans will be more cautious about who we elevate to that position. We especially need to screen for evidence of narcissism. If we have another billionaire, I hope they aren't so oblivious to the struggles of common people.

[PatSeg]

6. I'm particularly concerned about

the ignorance and gullibility of a large percentage of U.S. voters. Perhaps representative government needs some tweaks here and there. Over 77 million voters chose Donald Trump after he'd already served one disastrous term.

As we are right now as a country, are we really capable of effective self-governance? And is Trump exposing the weaknesses in our system? Well, we already know that the electoral college needs to go, but we still have tens of millions of people who know little or nothing about government and democracy.

Education certainly is an issue, but that could take a generation or more to fix and by then it could be too late. I don't know, I thought we were in the process of improving democracy, but it feels like we've taken a huge leap backward and no one seems to know how to fix it.

[newdeal2]

4. So much for "merit not DEI"

Central casting is code for white men with a specific haircut.

[Ilsa]

7. What a ridiculously superficial asshole he is. I had

high hopes that his walk from Marine One to the White House steps in 2020 after he had covid would be hid last walk. He was huffing and puffing enough.

And then he had the gaul to say 'you just can't let it beat you,' after hundreds of thousands had already died from it, some of them suffering amputations along the way. I had hoped he'd keel over with a massive rupture and disintegration of his ten-times-too-small heart. Turns out Trump was sent as an early plague.