Donald Trump's Presidential Training Ground? The WWE.
Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant with Donald Trump prior to Wrestlemania IV in 1988. (Russell Turiak/Getty Images)
There have not been many election cycles where the frontrunner for a major-party nomination was also a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Donald Trump earned that honor with a 2013 induction, marking a relationship with Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire that dates back to the 1980s. While many have compared politics — and specifically this year’s election — to professional wrestling, the connections between Trump and the squared circle are particularly clear.
Sure, the streams of politics and wrestling have crossed before. Former WWE CEO and president Linda McMahon, wife of Vince, ran for the U.S. Senate as Connecticut’s Republican candidate in 2010 and 2012. Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who wrestled and announced for McMahon’s organization, won a term as Minnesota’s governor in 1998 following a third-party run. But Trump is closing in on the Republican nomination for president by taking much of his WWE persona and moving it to the political arena.
The Donald has been involved with the WWE since 1988, when he brought Wrestlemania IV to Atlantic City, but it’s two more recent appearances where you see how Trump The WWE Hall Of Famer used the same strategies to become Trump The Presidential Contender.
In 2007, Trump became involved in a feud with Vince McMahon coined “The Battle of the Billionaires.” It began when Trump appeared on “Monday Night RAW” and literally made it rain money on the crowd, a tactic not allowed by federal election laws in the United States. The two men each chose a surrogate to face off at Wrestlemania 23, with the winning businessman earning the right to shave the head of the loser. On a March 2007 Raw, Trump showed up for the contract signing, leaning on lines that would nine years later become the staples of his stump speeches.
To start, you have an arena full of enthusiastic people with signs cheering and chanting “Donald.” Trump then warns that Vince’s chosen proxy, a giant named Umaga, is going “to have a hard time.” It’s a preferred phrase of Trump, who has used it recently to describe Ted Cruz’s prospects in upcoming primary states and Marco Rubio’s debate performances.
He then turns his attention to Vince, saying that the WWE chairman was “scared” and “frightened,” addressing him in the same bullying way he went after Jeb Bush. When Trump’s proxy, Bobby Lashley, gets down to the ring, the real estate magnate asks the crowd “Do we love Bobby?”. This is another favorite remark of Trump, whether legitimate or mocking, including recently when talking about protesters at one of his rallies. “Do we love our protesters? We love our protesters. Alright, get them out!”
The most direct line between WWE Trump and GOP Frontrunner Trump comes at the 10:13 mark of the above video, when Vince brings up a poll of celebrities who want him to win the match. Trump’s report is straight out of the 2016 cycle:
“I don’t know, Vince, if you’ve seen the latest poll…I saw the other night, Jon Travolta, he prefers Trump. I see others prefer Trump. The poll shows 95% of the Hollywood celebrities want your head shaved and we’re going to do it Vince. We’re going to do it.”
After Vince insults the crowd and says 95 percent of them are idiots, Trump defends, leaning on another favorite: “To me, they look like a very smart group of people.”
Informing a rival he’s going to have a hard time and then belittling him? Check. Asking the crowd a rhetorical question about whether they love someone, then complimenting them on their intelligence for agreeing? Check. Citing polls and random endorsements? Also check.
Trump’s man Bobby Lashley indeed gave Umaga a hard time at Wrestlemania 23, winning and earning Trump the right to shave Vince’s head.
Donald Trump, left, and Bobby Lashley, right shave the head of Vince McMahon after Lashley defeated Umaga at Wrestlemania 23 at Ford Field in Detroit, Sunday, April 1, 2007. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
The match is notable for a few things. The first was the presence of some of Trump’s beauty pageant winners in the crowd giving Vince a thumbs down:
(WWE Network)
The second is Trump’s willingness to get in on the spectacle of violence to entertain the crowd, first clotheslining Vince outside the ring:
And then taking an incredibly awkward Stunner from Stone Cold Steve Austin:
There were a few other WWE appearances by Trump over the years, including a fake press release about him buying “Monday Night RAW” that resulted in an actual 7 percent drop in WWE shares, but we fast forward to 2013 when Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
The ceremony took place in New York, and Trump’s hometown crowd was not as enthusiastic as the arena was back in 2007. They jeered throughout his speech, which contains some elements that will seem very familiar to anyone who’s watched his campaign rallies.
Of course, his family was there and of course Trump gave them shout outs. “I have to introduce a few really great people. My son, Eric Trump. Stand up, Eric.” The crowd has no interest in Eric, who has been a constant in his father’s campaign for president.
Trump then plays his best card, bringing up his daughter, Ivanka, who the (largely male) audience cheers. The inductee senses the moment and has his Apprentice co-star come up and stand below him on the stage. It’s a weird visual…
(WWE Network)
…although not the first time someone has been forced to stand awkwardly near Trump while he’s talking:
(Andrew Harnik/AP)
Of the many through lines between wrestling Trump and political Trump, the most direct is a quote from Vince at the Hall of Fame ceremony in April 2013. As McMahon introduces Trump, he mixes in compliments and playful insults at his Battle of the Billionaire rival. One line stands out as a bit of both: “Second only to me, Donald Trump might be a great president of the United States.”
The crowd booed.
