Despite an attempted assassination, Donald Trump has continued his election campaign and has seen a significant surge in his social media following. After narrowly avoiding being shot at a Pennsylvania rally, Trump’s Instagram following grew by one million in a week, from 24.9 million to 25.9 million.
Trump’s use of memes and viral content has played a crucial role in maintaining and expanding his online presence. However, this is not the first time Trump has attracted attention for his use of popular culture in his speeches. In January 2017, he was accused of using phrases from the Batman supervillain Bane during his inauguration speech. Additionally, a video that recently resurfaced from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon showed clips of Trump’s 2017 address being eerily similar to a graduation speech from the 2001 film ‘Legally Blonde’.
During his address at Liberty University in 2017, Trump said, “You must go forth into the world. Passion, courage in your conviction, most importantly, be true to yourself. I did it.” This statement closely mirrored a line from Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon in ‘Legally Blonde’, who said, “We take our next steps into the world, it is with passion, courage of conviction, and most importantly, have faith in yourself. We did it.”
The video comparison has gone viral, garnering over 11 million views and sparking a flurry of comments on social media. Some users criticized Trump for plagiarizing speeches, while others made humorous remarks about the situation.
Why am I just seeing this? 🤣🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/67FvelCDSU
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 23, 2024
Trump has faced similar accusations before, such as using phrases from movies and other sources in his speeches. During his inauguration, he pledged to take back the United States from the elites while “giving it back to you – the people,” which was seen as a direct lift from a speech by Bane in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’.
These incidents highlight the ongoing scrutiny and fascination with Trump’s rhetoric and public persona, contributing to his complex and often controversial image in the political arena.