No, Nick Offerman's Civil War Character Isn't Based On Donald Trump

Remember Donald Trump? Of course you do — the terrible game show host turned terrible president is inescapable, and he's running for a second term this year. No matter what you think of Trump, it's not incorrect to say he's a divisive figure — and he's fond of stoking the flames of that divisiveness. With that in mind, any time a modern film portrays a divisive politician (or a figure with some sort of political power), it's easy to read that character as some sort of Trump stand-in. Sometimes this is intentional, sometimes it's not. But art often reflects life, and this is the world we live in.

In Alex Garland's "Civil War," a second American Civil War has torn the country apart, and a team of journalists is traveling across America documenting what they see as the days of the war wind down. It's bound to be a controversial film. Our own Jacob Hall wrote in his review: "Those hoping to have their personal beliefs mirrored in one way or another, to have Garland pick a side and validate a certain point of view, will be left wanting. And those hoping for a movie that is more loudly specific about its intentions may find its intentionally vague politics to be a cop-out."

Nick Offerman, Ron Swanson himself, plays the American President in "Civil War," which means he's bound to draw comparisons to Trump. However, according to Garland, any connections to Trump aren't deliberate. In the end, though, it's up to the viewer.

While speaking with The Atlantic, Garland was asked if Offerman's President character was based on Trump. Garland replied first with a shrug, and then added:

"Nowhere in this narrative does it let you know what political side this president began on ... He may be a fascist at the point we meet him, but he presumably in his first term didn't say [that] ... The film puts that in the viewers' hands. Nick is interesting in the way that he refuses to let you read him ... It is what the viewer is bringing to it."

In other words, Garland didn't base the character directly on Trump, nor did Offerman set out to do a Trump impersonation. But if the viewer sees Trump in the character, that's not exactly wrong either — it's all just a matter of perspective. I'm sure some folks will see any President they choose in the character, be it Joe Biden or William Henry Harrison (he died in 30 days!). As Garland says, it's "what the viewer is bringing to it."

"Civil War" opens on April 12, 2024.