Donald Trump has rented out an Iowa movie theater in order to give out free tickets to the new Michael Bay film, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, The Des Moines Register reports. Despite mixed reviews —13 Hours currently holds a middling 57 percent on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes — Bay's film is seen by the anti-Hillary Clinton crowd as an evisceration of the former secretary of state's decisions in 2012.
"Mr. Trump would like all Americans to know the truth about what happened at Benghazi... The theater is paid for. The tickets are paid for. You just have to RSVP," Trump's Iowa co-chair Tana Goertz said Thursday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In its 1-star review of the film, The Guardian called 13 Hours "Michael Bay play[ing] politico for the Fox News crowd."
"Michael Bay's bloody bonanza about the 2012 U.S. compound attack is atrocious, shrewdly timed for the presidential race, and so scornful of foreign intervention it could be pacifist," the review reads.
The New York Times didn't mince words: "Clarity isn't the objective."
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfullySpeed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records requestSpeed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by TrumpSpeed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank planSpeed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBISpeed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summitSpeed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
