Nicole Kidman’s highly recognizable AMC advertisement inspired the White House’s latest video promotion of the MAGA cause.
On Monday, Donald Trump’s administration released a seemingly AI-generated video with the caption: “Silence your cellphones. Sit back. Welcome to the golden age.”
The minute-long video bears an undeniable resemblance to AMC’s rendition featuring Kidman, which has been playing at theaters nationwide since 2021. The White House swapped attire, character, and language, but the basic premise is the same.
In Kidman’s ad, she wears stilettos as she steps into a puddle outside an AMC theater. She begins her voiceover by saying the now well-known line: “We come to this place for magic.”
“We come to AMC theaters to laugh, to cry, to care because we need that,” the Academy Award-winning actress continues.
In the White House’s version, a faceless man steps into a puddle outside the White House. Wearing a hoodie and a red hat that says “Make America Great Again,” he strolls inside, gazing at portraits of Trump and video footage of the president played via a projector.
“We come to this place for MAGA,” a voiceover begins. “To fight, fight, fight and win, win, win,” it continues, echoing Trump’s comments after his Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt.
The video mimics other lines from the AMC ad. “Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this,” Kidman says in the original. In the White House version, the line hails Trump’s America as “a country where we don’t do heartbreak. We do victory.”
“Welcome to the golden age,” concludes the voice, atop the word “MAGA” in the likeness of AMC’s logo. The Daily Beast has reached out to AMC and Kidman’s representatives for comment.
The video has accumulated over 2 million views on X.
The viral original AMC was also parodied by Saturday Night Live in 2022, with former cast member Chloe Fineman playing Kidman.
The White House’s version was posted just after the theater chain had the highest-earning weekend of its 106-year history. The record comes amid blockbuster releases of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey.
The White House video post is just the latest instance in which Trump’s administration has co-opted the work of well-known artists to promote its own messaging.
In July, the administration’s official TikTok account posted a scene from The Odyssey featuring Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson that had been intercut to hail Trump as the “king” of the United States.
The White House has made several videos featuring music from musicians like Ariana Grande, Kesha, Katy Perry, Noah Kahan, Sabrina Carpenter, and SZA—all of whom have condemned the use of their art.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F--- ICE,” wrote Grande in June, after her song, “bye,” was used on a White House-created TikTok video featuring ICE making arrests.
“Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,” said popstar Olivia Rodrigo in November, responding to another video featuring ICE set to the tune of her song “All-American B---h.” Folk-pop star Kahan expressed similar thoughts in July: “Would never approve of my music being used in support of you or this administration.”
Rapper Drake saw his album covers altered to support MAGA and ICE in May.
