Donald Trump is a fictional character who has become reality, former French President and Socialist Francois Hollande said today during a conference as part of the European Series Festival in Lille, northern France.
Asked which films or series would best portray the American billionaire, who returned to the White House in January, Hollande, who led France from 2012 to 2017, said that before becoming president, Trump "entered reality television with the show The Apprentice where he recruited the best profile of staff for his company."
"He played a character and that's why it's very difficult to know whether he's acting or deciding, whether what he's saying is a provocation like dialogue in a series, or if it's really a decision. The great danger is his way of governing the United States," said Hollande, who is now a Socialist MP representing the Corrèze department in southwestern France.
Hollande said that being a "populist is being like a character." According to him, populists such as Trump, Argentine President Javier Miela and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson always "have a certain hairstyle to attract attention."
Hollande, on the other hand, praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "brave statesman and excellent actor," after showing a scene from his series "Servant of the People," in which Zelensky played the Ukrainian head of state before becoming one in real life.
Hollande noted that series about democracies "never took place in the Kremlin, in the palace of (Chinese President) Xi Jinping or in North Korea," due to a lack of information on how those countries function, while "for democracies, everything is open."
"Democracy has always lived on caricature, satire and laughter. So, let's be aware that the actions that television series present to you are in fact a hymn to our democracy," said Hollande, who received applause from those present at the conference.
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