Trump's first White House movie screening was Finding Dory


On Sunday afternoon, President Trump held his first official movie screening in the White House since taking office — Finding Dory, the heartwarming tale of a fish who was separated from her parents as a child and travels to the United States so they can be together again.
Star Albert Brooks found the timing intriguing, tweeting it was "odd that Trump is watching Finding Dory today, a movie about reuniting with family, when he's preventing it in real life." On Friday, Trump signed an executive order banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States, and over the weekend, vetted refugees and green card and visa holders were detained at airports and removed from airplanes headed to the U.S.
Protests against the travel ban were held on Saturday and Sunday at airports across the country, and lest people think Trump was watching the sequel to Finding Nemo as demonstrators raged against the order, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tweeted that Trump didn't stay in the theater long enough to watch the beauty of a forgetful fish reuniting with her parents, saying, "Actually, he spent 60 seconds welcoming and thanking spouses and children of White House staff then right back to work."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Critics' choice: 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
How will Trump's spending bill impact student loans?
the explainer Here's what the Republicans' domestic policy bill means for current and former students
-
Can the US economy survive Trump's copper tariffs?
Today's Big Question The price hike 'could upend' the costs of cars, houses and appliances
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters