Trump deems foreign films a threat

Proclamation casts further doubt on his mental health

Exclusive to MeierMovies, May 4, 2025

President Donald Trump announced today that films made outside the United States constitute a national-security threat.

“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,“ Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda! Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”

It is unclear what this tariff would include (theatrical releases or streaming, or both) and how it would be enforced. Also unclear is whether the tariffs pertain to American production companies making films outside the United States, or to all movies made outside the country.

It is worth noting, for perspective, that the vast majority of movies are today made outside the United States. In addition, the movie industry was born outside the United States, though America came to dominate after the collapse of the European industry during World War I.

This announcement comes on the heels of the President’s statement that he would like to be Pope (after posting an AI-generated image of himself as Pope), his refusal to state that he would abide by the Constitution regarding due process, his refusal to rule out a military invasion of Greenland, his instructions to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to completely defund PBS and NPR (despite the likely illegality of such an executive order) and his announcement that he would be reopening Alcatraz as an active military prison. It is now painfully clear that this is no longer a debate about policy. It is a debate about competence. Clearly, the President of the United States is mentally ill, and the sooner he can be removed from office by the 25th Amendment, or impeachment and conviction, the better.

For more information on Trump’s movie proclamation, see Variety. And for more perspective on his mental health, visit Wikipedia.

As difficult as this situation is, particularly for the motion-picture industry, a far more disturbing question remains: How did 77 million people (49.8 percent of voters) select a mentally ill person as President of the United States?

Ever wondered what you would do in 1933 Germany or 1922 Italy? You’re doing it now.

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