“Mindy Project” actor Ike Barinholtz says President Trump’s obsession with loyalty was one of inspirations behind the premise of his new film, “The Oath.”
Barinholtz recounted Trump’s cabinet meeting last year where each of his members took turns praising the president, adding that there have been some “big changes” in the last year since Trump stepped into the political arena and became president.
“As far as the actual concept of loyalty, that was something as I started reading more about Donald Trump, I knew he was kind of obsessed with,” Barinholtz told Hill.TV contributor Jamal Simmons during an interview with “Rising” that aired on Friday.
The dark comedy follows one American family in the not too distant future after an unnamed president proposes that all citizens sign a “voluntary” oath, pledging their loyalty to the commander-in-chief. If they sign the oath, they will receive a tax credit among other benefits.
Barinholtz, a self-described political junkie, said that he needed some kind of “looming crisis,” and that’s how he came up with the idea for the so-called “loyalty oath,” saying it was innocuous enough to appeal to people on both ends of the political spectrum.
The Chicago-born actor said the concept of the film was also inspired by a family feud over politics the Thanksgiving after the 2016 presidential election.
“My mother, my brother and I got into this pretty big argument about the election and we were kind of blaming each other…and the next morning I woke up and I thought to myself, ‘we voted for the same person, all of us and we’re all on the same side’ and we were yelling at each other,” he said.
But the actor and director said he hopes that the comedy will appeal to both Democrats and Republicans alike at a time when politics has become increasingly divisive and partisan.
“I really thought about it and said okay this seems like something that could be taken either way and can kind of blow everyone up.”
“The Oath” hits theaters nationwide on Oct. 12.
— Tess Bonn
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