Recent news events have me thinking about movie quotes. Some seem especially apt.
The first quote is courtesy of "The Godfather," when Michael Corleone tells his brother-in-law, Carlo Rizzi, not to insult his intelligence. Todd Blanche made me think of this quote when he recently appeared on "Meet the Press" and said this:
“There is this extraordinarily false narrative that the president wakes up in the morning and calls me and says, ‘Todd, go prosecute X or Y,’” Mr. Blanche said. “He does not do that. He has never done that. He will never do that.”
I'm sorry, what? Last September, President Trump posted this directive to then Attorney General Pam Bondi: "We can’t delay any longer,
it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"
Trump went on to name James Comey, Adam Schiff and Letitia James. He noted they were "all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done."
So, why would Blanche spout this nonsense? It insults my intelligence and anyone with half a brain.
A sacrifice Trump was willing to make
The next quote that popped into my mind came from the classic kids film "Shrek." In that film, Lord Farquaad tells his subjects, "Some of you may die, but I am willing to make that sacrifice." President Trump recently did a Lord Farquaad impression when he left Secretaries Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent and the press pool on a decoy plane while he snuck off on a catering truck to board another plane home.
I get the need for the security, but was it necessary to put all of the folks on the Qatar jet in harm's way? It appears to be a sacrifice Trump was willing to make.
I know you are, but what am I?
And this quote from "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" – "I know you are, but what am I?" − serves as a preview of what a Trump/John Ossoff debate would look like. I have to say, looking at the clip, Pee Wee's opponent looks way more like Trump than Pee Wee looks like John Ossoff.
Indeed, maybe it's just me, but I really don’t get Trump's thing with calling Ossoff "Pee Wee Herman," although to be fair, the first time Trump tried it, he said "Pinky Herman." I'm sure Trump would say, ironically quoting Pee Wee, "I meant to do that." But the Ossoff nickname just doesn't work like "Low Energy Jeb," "Little Marco" and "Sleepy Joe."
It seems to me that Trump is losing some velocity off his fastball. I guess it happens to everyone.
Kathleen Turner, meet Vivek Ramaswamy
The last quote comes from Kathleen Turner in "Body Heat," when she meets Ned Racine (played brilliantly by William Hurt). She sizes him up and says, "You're not too smart. I like that in a man." This one puts me in the mind of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Vivek is running an ad featuring his long-time barber, DJ, who says, "People in Ohio are disgusted by what's going on." Um, just to remind DJ, Vivek is a Republican. Ohio has had Republican governors since 2011. In the Ohio legislature, Republicans have a supermajority. Vivek's running mate is Rob McColley, the president of the Ohio Senate. So, if DJ is right, and the people of Ohio are disgusted, it seems counterintuitive to vote Republican. It’s like conducting an employee evaluation, telling the employee how awful they are and then signing them to a long-term contract.
That just doesn't sound too smart to me. I bet Kathleen Turner would love Vivek.
Jack Greiner is a Cincinnati attorney. He represents Enquirer Media in First Amendment and media issues. He can be reached at greinerjack46@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Movie quotes that perfectly explain our politics | Strictly Legal
