Donald Trump is obsessed with his on-camera appearance – and apples don’t fall far from trees.
The former President and his children Ivanka, Don. Jr. and Eric fuss over their pre-interview camera angles to humorous effect in the first trailer for “Unprecedented,” the all-access documentary that Alex Holder shot during the 2020 election. The Jan. 6 Special Committee has subpoenaed Holder’s footage to use as evidence, but has yet to show any of it during televised hearings.
Back when “flip-flopping” was a political sin, then-President Trump’s indecision over a glass of water in his shot might have gotten him impeached a third time – but that’s about the extent of any material evidence from the footage revealed Tuesday by Politico. We also see Ivanka fret over a visible line at the waist of her dress, cheekily suggesting she pick up an attending lap dog (not hers) as cover.
Between the committee’s backroom plans and a deal with Discovery+ to release “Unprecedented” sometime this summer, it makes sense that Holder’s best cards will stay unplayed for now. But the trailer gives us a sense of the intimate and familiar nature of his access, which includes interviews with Trump, his children, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Notably absent: First Lady Melania Trump, who doesn’t appear in an interview setting – or anywhere, for that matter.
There are flashes of Capitol rioters that appear to be new, including one riled-up trespasser yelling “We’e got to get the roaches out!” and other dramatic scenes of forceful violence – but that’s nothing we haven’t seen already during the Jan. 6 hearings’ early days. And much of the footage was taken at public events – like a rally where Don Jr. bellows, “We will make liberals cry again!”
If we learned anything from the first “Unprecedented” trailer, it’s to always assume you’re on the record when a documentary filmmaker is around – and know when the camera is rolling.
