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Concerningly, this libelous depiction of a sitting President of the United States as a rapist may hamper Ireland’s attempts at ingratiating itself with the new administration, as €350,000 of funding was granted by Fís Éireann to the production of the film. The state agency further staked its name to the film by having its logo displayed during the opening credits.

President Trump is certainly aware of the controversial movie and the allegations it has made against his character, filing a cease-and-desist letter May 2024 in an attempt to prevent the film’s release. Upon the film’s release, Donald Trump called it “a cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job, put out right before the 2024 Presidential Election.”

Given Dublin’s unpreparedness for the new Trump Administration, and close relationship with the Democratic Party, the Irish government has found it difficult to rebuild the bridges it has burnt with the Republican Party. However, the implication of Irish state funding in a controversial film accusing the President of the United States of criminality and untrustworthiness in his personal life will be difficult to explain

One wonders how Micheál Martin will be able to speak with Trump face to face for the annual White House St. Patrick’s Day festivities, or if they will even be held this year.

The Irish co-producer of the Apprentice, Tailored Films’ Ruth Treacy revealed to the Times, the extent of Irish involvement in the creation of the movie.

Tailored Films is a producing studio which has received funding from several state organisations ranging from Fís Éireann, RTÉ, and TG4, to the state’s new digital censorship agency Coimisiún na Meán. It would be hard for anyone to claim that the Irish government was unaware of the funding of this film.

Recounting the race to release the movie before the 2024 election, Treacy said “the whole summer was spent trying to extricate ourselves from legal challenges to get it out in October.”

Speaking of Fís Éireann’s support, Treacy said their funding “showed that they were brave in terms of getting involved in something that’s really artistically important, but very internationally relevant.”

Treacy is indeed correct that this movie will be very internationally relevant, as Irish officials may have to explain to the Trump Administration why state funding was allocated to a movie attempting to defame the character of the President.

However, blinded from the consequences of their actions, Irish producers are keen to stake the country’s reputation to the film, as Treacy told the Times: “I know potentially on the surface, people might look at The Apprentice and say, ‘That’s not an Irish film; are we kind of just clasping at straws?’ But actually, it is hugely Irish in terms of the creative talent behind it and the amount of Irish people that worked on it.”

With the looming threat of tariffs and the end of Ireland’s foreign direct investment model, Irish relations with America are more important now than ever. However as further light is shone on Ireland’s duplicitous relationship with American liberals, the Irish government will have a harder time explaining to Republican leadership why they should show the Irish economy any mercy.

Original article: gript.ie