Woody Allen had surprisingly kind words for President Trump — praising the commander in chief on a podcast for his acting chops and “charismatic quality,” exhibited in a film he once directed.
The controversial Hollywood legend made an appearance on comedian Bill Maher’s podcast “Club Random” during which he sang the praises of Trump who had a brief cameo appearance in the 1998 Allen-directed “Celebrity.”
“I’m one of the few people who can say he directed Trump,” Allen, 89, boasted on the podcast released Monday.
“He was a pleasure to work with and a very good actor. He was very polite, and his mark, and did everything correctly,” Allen said, with Maher responding in mock outrage, “How dare you?”
Allen insisted he was not a “Trumper” and both men made sure to note, while complimenting Trump, that they voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
“As an actor he was very good. He was very convincing and he has a charismatic quality as an actor. And I’m surprised he wanted to go into politics,” the “Manhattan” director stated.
“Politics is nothing but headaches, and critical decisions, and agony. This was a guy I used to see at the Knick games,” Allen said.
Trump apparently appreciated the director’s comments, reposting an article on Truth Social that shared the laudatory comments.
Maher agreed with Allen’s positivity on Trump’s personality but insisted the president had distinct on-stage and off-stage personalities which the host likened to acting.
“But that doesn’t bother me,” Allen retorted. “They all have to put on a certain patina for the public.”
“I would like to direct him now that he’s president,” Allen joked.
Maher came under fire back in April when he visited Trump at the White House for dinner and came away with overwhelmingly positive reviews which irked his audience of liberals.
“Just for starters, he laughs,” Maher said in a tea-spilling monologue on “Real Time.”
“I’d never seen him laugh in public. But he does — including at himself — and it’s not fake. Believe me, as a comedian of forty years, I know a fake laugh when I hear it.”
In the 1998 film “Celebrity,” Donald Trump makes a brief cameo as a member of the City’s glitterati eating at a power lunch uptown. In the clip, he pokes fun at his own reputation in a quintessential understated tone.
“Well I’m working on buying St. Patrick’s Cathedral, maybe doing a little rip down job and putting up a very, very tall and beautiful building,” Trump said in the scene.
That was one of many cameos then-real estate developer Donald Trump made in prominent movies with the two-time president also appearing in “Eddie” (1996), “The Little Rascals” (1994), and, most notably, “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992).
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