Ralph Fiennes thinks he knows why Donald Trump won the US presidential election.
Earlier this month, the Republican politician beat his Democratic rival Kamala Harris to become the 47th US president, prompting strong reaction from the world of film, TV and music.
Trump swept to victory following a chaotic campaign dogged by anger, insults and division and many stars who had openly endorsed Harris shared their upset at the result.
British actor Fiennes, whose credits include Schindler’s List, Harry Potter and new drama Conclave, has mused on how Trump came out top in the election race – and said he believes it’s because Trump has a “remarkable gift” as a storyteller.
When asked why people are “drawn to institutions and leaders who seek to roll things back”, Fiennes told The Guardian:”I think it comes back to a story and how it’s put out. Trump told a story.
“The way he described the problem with America and what he could do, was a story. He has a remarkable gift for talking and accessing people’s deeper gut feelings. And the story in its simplicity appealed.”
The actor continued: “Whatever you think of the horror of the language and the racism and sexism that we all identify on the liberal side, it speaks to people. He’s the man in the bar who says: ‘I’ll get rid of this s***. We’ll make your lives better.’
Fiennes said that Trump’s win “was a visceral response to a man saying: ‘I’m going to sort it for you,’” adding: “Basically, his story won.”
The actor suggested that the Democrats “were increasingly perceived as a sort of removed elite” with a story that “wasn’t put across very strongly”.
“Trump told the best story, whether you like it or not,” Fiennes said, with his Conclave co-star Stanley Tucci stating: “By simplifying everything, he distilled it down to ideas that were very easy for people to grasp.
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“He just played on everyone’s fears and he did what so many fascistic-minded people do, which is find a scapegoat: immigrants. It’s always the other. So people go: that’s why I have no money, because of that guy. It’s not true, at all. But it works. It’s worked before and it worked again.”
New film Conclave follows the dramatis selection of a new pope, which reveals a trail of deep secrets that could shake the very foundation of the Roman Catholic Church. It is being released in the UK on 29 November.
