Former President Donald Trump is alleging that the release of the film The Apprentice is "election interference." 

This is according to a new report from Just the News.

Trump's election interference claim is based on the fact that the film is being released about a month before the 2024 presidential election and on the fact that the film paints Trump in a seriously negative light.

The former president would seem to have a point here. Why else would this negative portrayal be released so close to an election?

Background

The film debuted on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. But, it will not be shown in theaters until Oct. 11, 2024.

The film's billing says that it is "The story of how a young Donald Trump started his real estate business in 1970s and 80s New York with the helping hand of infamous lawyer Roy Cohn."

This, however, is a rather benign description of a film that is anything but benign. It would be an understatement to say that it is controversial.

"The film portrays Trump as a powerful businessman who 'falls under the sway of the demonic lawyer and power broker Roy Cohn,' according to the film's description," Just the News reports.

The outlet adds, "There is also a scene in the movie showing Trump raping his first wife, Ivana Trump, who is played by Maria Bakalova."

Election interference

The Associated Press reports that Trump has already threatened to bring a lawsuit against those behind the film.

Per the outlet:

Part of what dampened interest in “The Apprentice” was the potential threat of legal action. After its Cannes premiere in May, Cheung called the movie “pure fiction” and said the Trump team would file a lawsuit “to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers.”

Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign's communications director, has also released a statement on the matter.

He said:

This "film" is pure malicious defamation, should never see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire.

The Hill goes on to report Trump's legal team as having sent a cease and desist letter to the filmmakers, saying, in part:

[The film] is a concoction of lies that repeatedly defames President Trump and constitutes direct foreign interference in America’s elections. If you do not immediately cease and desist all distribution and marketing of this libelous farce, we will be forced to pursue all appropriate legal remedies.