Life imitates art

In 1997 the motion picture “Wag the Dog” focused on a President of the United States who was in big political trouble after having inappropriate relations with a minor girl.

To quash the bad publicity, Robert DeNiro, who played the President’s advisor, sought the help of a Hollywood movie producer played by Dustin Hoffman. They came up with a plan to fabricate a war with a small country (Albania) to deflect the public’s attention from the President’s sex scandal.

In the 29 years since that black comedy’s release, it has been recalled several times whenever a President has tried to deflect attention from his personal problems. Ironically, this movie was released just a month before President Bill Clinton’s extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky became public. Within a few weeks Clinton ordered the bombing of a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan and then bombed Iraq, prompting the media to compare his actions with the movie. The attacks didn’t make the public forget about Clinton’s misbehavior.

“Wag the Dog” has since become shorthand for whenever a president in a personal dilemma is trying to change the subject.

The movie is still being streamed today. You can rent it for $3.99 on Amazon Video or Apple TV. We watched it again Saturday night after President Donald Trump ordered the invasion of Venezuela and the capture of its leader Nicolas Maduro, who was brought to the United States to stand trail on drug charges. About 80 Venezuelans, including military and civilians, were killed in the attack, while about a half dozen American soldiers were injured. Trump says the U.S. will run Venezuela for the time being, and now is threatening to go after Cuba, Colombia and Greenland as well.

“Wag the Dog” is eerily relevant today as Trump is embroiled in the Jeffery Epstein scandals among others. Trump was a close friend of Epstein, who was accused of running a sex trafficking operation involving underage school girls until his mysterious death in a New York City jail in 2019. Trump does not want those Epstein Files publicized, which include many references to Trump, despite a judge’s order to release them a few weeks ago.

The movie received two Academy Award nominations: Best Leading Actor for Hoffman and Best Writing. It was also nominated for Best Picture by the Golden Globes. The Rotten Tomatoes movie review gives it an 86% rating.

“Wag the Dog” is a very funny movie based on what seemed like an outlandish supposition at the time. What happened last weekend in Venezuela is not funny at all, but it’s all too real.