Greetings, fellow Americans. Today, of course, is Inauguration Day, the quadrennial holiday that marks the swearing-in of a newly-elected president. The day-long festivities are filled with ceremonial galas featuring celebrities from all areas of pop culture, including the world of cinema. Yes, from its earliest days Hollywood has been fascinated with the Oval Office’s occupants and their life stories (1776, Lincoln, Sunrise at Campobello, and Reagan, just to name a few examples). To date every U.S. president, save for John Tyler, has been portrayed in a biodrama, satire, or documentary short film of one type or another. But do you know how many of the nation’s chief executives have appeared on the big screen as themselves?
The answer is a surprisingly small number: four. The very first U.S. president to be seen on film was none other than Ohio’s William McKinley. Our 25th commander-in-chief was depicted receiving the news of his nomination by the Republican National Convention in an 1896 pseudo-documentary short, McKinley at Home, Canton, Ohio. Back then, it was common practice to dramatize current events–battles, weddings, speeches, et al.–and present them to eager and accepting audiences as the real McCoy (talk about “fake news”).
In addition to an acting career that lasted over a quarter-century and included over 50 films, future 40th president Ronald Reagan made brief turns as himself in a pair of Warner Bros. projects, 1940’s short Alice in Movieland and the 1949 musical It’s a Great Feeling.
Several decades later, chief executive #42, Bill Clinton, became the first sitting president to have a movie role with his cameo in the 1996 family comedy First Kid.
When it comes to playing himself on the big screen, however, no president can top America’s 45th and–as of today–47th leader, Donald Trump. Beginning in the late 1980s, when he was merely a globally known real estate mogul, best-selling author, and New York bon vivant, Trump has turned up in no less than 10 theatrical films. First on the list is the 1989 Bo Derek-led supernatural fantasy Ghosts Can’t Do It, a performance that earned “The Donald” a Worst Supporting Actor Razzie Award.
Next came his hotel lobby cameo in 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, followed by turns in the 1995 IMAX drama Across the Sea of Time; two 1996 Whoopi Goldberg comedies, Eddie and The Associate; Woody Allen’s 1998 film Celebrity; 2001’s cult fave Zoolander; the 2002 Sandra Bullock-Hugh Grant romcom Two Weeks Notice; and Oliver Stone’s 2010 stock market sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Interestingly, the only title among the 10 where Trump wasn’t cast as himself was 1994’s updating of The Little Rascals, where he’s seen during the Soap Box Derby race as Waldo’s father.
And no, Richard Nixon saying “Sock it to me?” on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In was television, so that doesn’t count.