PA/GettyChristian Bale has revealed Donald Trump thought he was Bruce Wayne – aka Batman.
Now I’m not a big fan of the president, but I can kind of understand the mix up. I mean, Bale has spent some of his life going by the identity of Bruce Wayne, albeit for a character in a film, so it’s not like he was hugely off the mark.
Plus, if the POTUS isn’t a big Batman fan, which after this situation I’m guessing he’s not, then it’s fair to say he wouldn’t have known Wayne was simply the superhero vigilante’s alter ego.
He obviously just recognised the link between Bale’s appearance and what he knew about Bruce Wayne, and came up with this result.
Wikimedia CommonsThe best part is, Bale just went along with the whole thing. Potentially because he didn’t want to embarrass Trump by correcting him, but more likely because he knew it would make for an excellent story. Which it does.
Bale told his story at the premiere for his new film Vice, in which the actor plays former Vice President Dick Cheney. The political dramedy will almost certainly draw similarities with America’s current political situation and the president.
In an interview with Variety, the actor recalled the moment he met Trump in 2011. The 44-year-old was filming scenes for The Dark Knight Rises in Trump Tower when the businessman invited him upstairs to his office.
Bale explained the mix up, saying:
I met him, one time. We were filming on ‘Batman’ in Trump Tower and he said, come on up to the office.
I think he thought I was Bruce Wayne because I was dressed as Bruce Wayne.
Okay, at this point I do wonder if the president really thought the character was a real person.
Does he think all hero/villain movies are factual? Was he was fishing for a superhero endorsement ahead of his run for presidency? Or perhaps simply wondering if he could have a go in Batman’s futuristic aircraft?
PABale continued:
So he talked to me like I was Bruce Wayne and I just went along with it, really. It was quite entertaining. I had no idea at the time that he would think about running for president.
I’m really curious to know what it means to talk to someone like they’re Bruce Wayne, though I can quite easily imagine Trump trying to compare his business strategy with that of Wayne Enterprises and asking how the financial climate is holding up in Gotham City.
I hope Bale meets Trump again at some point in his life and decides to carry on assuming the identity of Wayne. I’d love to see a few tweets from the president boasting about how he and the fictional character are such good friends!
Hilarious!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.