Donald Trump almost played the President in a Sharknado movie

Hollywood seems to be full of tantalising ‘what if’ stories regarding its current Commander in Chief, Donald Trump. Not long ago it came to light that the real estate billionaire was originally central to the plot of 2011 comedy thriller ‘Tower Heist’ – and now, it emerges that he was almost part of the ‘Sharknado’ franchise.

Yes, in a plot twist that doubtless would have seemed too absurd to be true at the time (even in a film that features flying sharks), Donald Trump came close to appearing as the President of the United States in 2015’s ‘Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!’

According to The Hollywood Reporter, production company The Asylum asked Trump to play the President in the third instalment of their knowingly absurd series for US TV network SyFy, after talks fell through with their original choice, former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The Asylum’s David Latt recalls, “The Donald said yes… he was thrilled to be asked.” The casting came at the suggestion of ‘Sharknado’ series leading man Ian Ziering, who had worked with Trump on TV’s ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’

Latt says negotiations reached an advanced stage, but that they were eventually told by Trump’s lawyer Michael D Cohen, “Donald’s thinking about making a legitimate run for the presidency, so we’ll get back to you… This might not be the best time.”

However, Latt says that once The Asylum announced that Mark Cuban would play the President in ‘Sharknado 3’ instead, this prompted an angry response. “We immediately heard from Trump’s lawyer… He basically said, ‘How dare you? Donald wanted to do this. We’re going to sue you! We’re going to shut the entire show down!'”

Cohen – currently under investigation by the FBI over the Russia scandal – reportedly denies any knowledge of this conversation.

Other political figures to have appeared in the ‘Sharknado 3’ include controversial Conservative commentator Ann Coulter and disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner.

The latest film in the series, ‘Sharknado 5: Global Swarming,’ premieres on SyFy on 6 August.

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