This is a satirical portrayal of Donald Trump’s ascent to power and his unconventional alliance with Vladimir Putin. Trump, depicted as egotistical and emotionally stunted since childhood, transitions from real estate to reality TV before entering politics. He recruits shock jock Alex Clamz for his presidential campaign, facing off against the sensible Mallory Claxton. Despite scandal and controversy, Trump wins the presidency with covert support from Putin. The narrative humorously highlights their contrasting personalities, with Putin portrayed as a former KGB agent with unique coping mechanisms. The story unfolds with absurdity and farce, reflecting on contemporary political dynamics through a comedic lens.
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1. ”How did you go about creating the protagonist’s character arc?”
Well, there are two protagonists, Trump and Putin. The book starts with both of them as kids, at a serious geographic and financial remove (Trump born rich, Putin from the lower middle-class) but sharing an emotional motor that drives the story forward: resentment and belligerence. I won’t give spoilers here, but each of them finds unique ways to blow off steam. I take known facts, but warp them for a comedic effect, to achieve what The San Francisco Book Review printed as, “(A) profound irony of The Haircut Who Would Be King is that it satirizes elements of a political relationship that has become so ludicrous that the public could actually imagine there being truth in these farcical stories” That’s how the arc progresses beyond known facts, into situations that COULD be possible, given the extreme pathology of each character. The arc might be described as House of Cards, wrapped in Monty Python, on the way to Dr. Strangelove.
2. ”What role do the supporting characters play in the narrative?”
The supporting characters are primarily part of Trump’s entourage, from mentors, to handlers to flunkies and finally explainers (…”but what he REALLY meant was”…) I also include an antagonistic journalist, Max Punch, who tries to show the dross under the “shiny object” that has mesmerized so many Americans. I particularly enjoyed writing a parody of the Sunday Morning News Show, Greet The Mess. Max is on the panel with some others, discussing a national tragedy that may have been created by Trump in order to deflect from his own problems.
3. “Was there a character that was particularly challenging to write?”
No character in particular; they each have their own idiosyncratic voice. However, a challenge was to follow Philip’s Roth’s advice, “The writer must never self-censor.”
This combines with a credo from an acting teacher, “The enemy of ALL art, is a notion of “good taste.” These have been my artistic North Stars in whatever medium I’m working. But Trump’s world and behavior is so scabrous WITHOUT exaggeration, I had to keep telling myself, “Go for it. Go wherever your imagination and logic take you.” I received one consumer review that said, “Book is very funny, but way too much filth.” Well, this is Trumpworld! What am I supposed to do, sanitize it? Ignore it? The man who said he could grab any woman by the pussy, and they’d enjoy it? I actually did cut out some funny, “filthy“ scenes, because they were redundant and slowed the pace of the narrative.
4. “How do you hope readers will react to the characters?”
Oh, they’re kind of folk you want to share a beer and a burger with. No, I hope readers will LAUGH at them, but not laugh them off. Laughing them off as mere clowns minimizes the danger they present. In the film Dr. Strangelove, the characters General Jack D. Ripper, Col. Bat Guano, Major Buck Turgidson, and Col. “King” Kong are hysterically funny. But they play an infernal game where the fate of the world is at stake.
Author Info
Robert Trebor is a character actor with more than 40 years experience on stage, film and television. Two of his noteworthy roles are The Son of Sam in the film Out Of The Darkness, and Salmoneus the merchant in the Hercules and Xena TV series. Playing both a psychopath and a salesman was enormously helpful in preparing this book. For more information – https://roberttrebor.net/