Michael Moore is calling on satirists to do what every political rival has failed to achieve before them – namely, unseat Donald Trump before election day beckons and the reality TV star ends up becoming the world’s most powerful leader.
The documentary maker particularly wants British humorists to summon all their creative juices to coincide with The Donald’s arrival in the UK this week.
Michael Moore, whose own satirically-titled film ‘Where To Invade Next’ is currently in cinemas, says:
“17 other candidates couldn’t find a way of bringing him down. Now Hillary Clinton is trying to do the same thing, using logic, brains, things like that, it’s going to require something else.
“My personal opinion is my hope that satire is what will bring Donald Trump down.
“You could do a bit of that while he’s here. Aren’t you guys the masters, the originators of that? Gulliver’s Swift was Irish, but you know what I mean.”
However, Michael Moore is clear that Donald Trump presents far more than a photo-op distraction in this year’s race to the White House.
“I think there’s an excellent chance of Donald Trump becoming the next president of the US. I said last August he would be the Republican nominee,” he says, his simple words not masking his own contempt for the situation.
"A 21st century version of fascism"
“He’s a master at using the media and the media is very willing to comply. He’s not as stupid as he looks. We should take it very seriously, the manipulation that’s going on here, and the use of propaganda, and the way that he’s doing it is just brilliant, in the sense that he has succeeded.
“He knows how to manipulate a dumbed-down population, whose schools have been wrecked, whose media is just insipid and stupid and doesn’t compute with facts, so the public is easily manipulated.
“He’s had record turnouts, the largest crowds, he supports a 21st century version of fascism, marrying the state and capital together, to benefit the few at the expense of the many, by blaming ’the other’, by which I mean Muslims.
“I don’t believe the majority of Americans support him, but it’s about who turns up to vote.
“The haters are all going to be out there on election day, and whether people are going to be enthusiastic about voting for Hillary, they’re going to be more enthusiastic about voting for Non-Trump.”
Michael Moore adds that he knows, from bittersweet experience, not to be surprised by any decisions taken by the US electorate:
“When I was 25 years old, it was ‘there’s no way this country’s going to elect an actor to be president, a B-list actor whose main co-star was a chimpanzee’,” he remembers.
“Me at 45, ‘there’s no way people in this country are going to exaggerate for George Bush’ and we were like haha, he’ll never be president. Now, older and wiser, I’m well aware that my fellow Americans could elect Donald Trump as President of the United States.”
He shrugs.
“The good news is the math. He’s done a massive job in pissing off 80% of the electorate.”
The gauntlet has been laid down, people.
Michael Moore's 'Where To Invade Next' is in UK cinemas now.