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Clip from “Beetlejuice” used in bizarre new Trump campaign video

The video uses scenes from many other films as well, centering on "choosing greatness" and the American home

Senior Culture Editor

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Donald Trump speaks at Drake Enterprises, an automotive parts manufacturer and supplier, in Clinton, Michigan, on September 27, 2023. (MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images)
Donald Trump speaks at Drake Enterprises, an automotive parts manufacturer and supplier, in Clinton, Michigan, on September 27, 2023. (MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images)

A new campaign video shared to Truth Social by Donald Trump on Wednesday kicks off with a clip from “Beetlejuice,” the 1988 comedy/horror film directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as “the ghost with the most” himself. And while it’s uncertain if the inclusion of this clip is a nod to Lauren Boebert being thrown out of a Denver production of the musical inspired by the film a few weeks back, it sure seems likely. 

In the brief clip from “Beetlejuice,” Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland and Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland are engaging with a television set, which is a running theme throughout the rest of Trump’s video, which also features clips from “The Goonies,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Forrest Gump,” “Gremlins,” and many others that have no apparent connection with one another aside from the fact that many of the clips feature television sets.

Interspersed in all of this, snippets of Trump are shown from throughout the past few years while a voiceover from the former president and 2024 hopeful sings his own praises, asking viewers to “choose greatness.” 

Watch here.

 

By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Senior Culture Editor, where she helps further coverage of TV, film, music, books and culture trends from a unique and thoughtful angle. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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