‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ Ends Up Making The Case For Trump

“Think about it. Or don’t. Maybe when you get out of here in a couple of years and go off to IBM or the Marines or something, you won’t be able to think about it; they’ll be doing the thinking for you.” — Abbie Hoffman

Netflix has steadily churned out anti-Trump content, like Trump: An American Dream, which one reviewer describes as “playing like a  supervillain origin story”), Meet the Trumps: From Immigrant to President, The Great Hack, and The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy, an examination of Trump’s failures to be produced by the Obamas. Netflix subscribers are primed to expect a copious assortment of entertainment options rife with anti-Trump messaging. However, Aaron Sorkin — a director and writer known for his progressive views and famed for his attempt to ostensibly portray both sides of ideological and political arguments on The West Wing — has unexpectedly presented what might be the most pro-Trump film I’ve yet to see on the streamer. Despite Sorkin’s attempt to wink at Trump haters, the underlying implications of the film quell the anti-Trump narrative, rendering those moments merely a reminder that we are viewing the 1960s through a 2020 lens.